Solent endangered ecosystem restoration project secures £5m grant

The University of Portsmouth is part of a multi-million project to restore endangered ecosystems across the Solent.

THE restoration of endangered ecosystems across the Solent has been made possible thanks to a group of organisations securing a £5 million grant.

A partnership of ten organisations working in the Solent region, including the University of Portsmouth, has successfully secured a £5m grant to undertake a five-year project to restore some of the Solent’s most at-risk marine habitats.

The money, granted by the Endangered Landscapes Programme, will be used to restore seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, saltmarsh and seabird nesting habitat across the region as part of the Solent Seascape Project.

Dr Joanne Preston, a reader in Marine Ecology and Evolution at the University of Portsmouth, which is leading the scientific monitoring work for the project, said: ‘Embarking upon a marine habitat restoration project at this scale is truly ground-breaking from a scientific perspective.

‘It will be fascinating to compare the ecosystem benefits of restoration work here in the Solent – a temperate seascape - to those seen in tropical systems where restoration techniques are slightly further ahead.’

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The ten project partners include Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, RSPB, Natural England, Project Seagrass, Coastal Partners, Isle of Wight Estuaries Project, Chichester Harbour Protection and Recovery of Nature (CHaPRoN), Environment Agency, University of Portsmouth, and Blue Marine Foundation.

Louise MacCallum, Solent project manager for Blue Marine Foundation added: ‘Each of the Solent Seascape Project partners brings a unique set of skills. It’s an incredibly strong coalition of organisations that truly want to work together to deliver benefits for people and nature.’