Kirstyn J. May – MSc Coastal and Marine Resource Management, University of Portsmouth:

At the end of summer 2021, whilst conducting preliminary research prior to starting a Master’s in Coastal and Marine Resource Management at the University of Portsmouth that October, I came across a Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) volunteering opportunity on Instagram involving their seagrass restoration project. Without hesitation, I applied to volunteer. Helping out with the Seagrass Restoration Project was the perfect, hands-on introductory experience I was looking for before starting the Master’s.

I volunteered on a beautiful, warm sunny morning at Farlington Marshes, carefully collecting seagrass seeds that would later become seagrass pods. I had so much fun and learnt a lot about local seagrass restoration. We wore waders and hand-made pattens to walk across the marshes at low tide, it was very muddy. We used body boards to delicately collect the seagrass seeds, the experience was very serene and calming. I enjoyed myself so much, I signed up for another day. During my second day volunteering, one of the HIWWT officers mentioned that a local oyster restoration project was also looking for volunteers for that day. I was so lucky as I got the chance to volunteer on that project too! Thanks to volunteering with the HIWWT, I felt confident and prepared for my Master’s.

Come March 2022, in the second semester of the MSc course, I started to research possible projects for my thesis. I wanted to concentrate on and contribute towards a current local coastal and marine project involving both public and stakeholder engagement. I considered various themes centred around people and stakeholder perspectives but decided to continue exploring seagrass restoration. After a lot of background research, I established the project: “Seagrass Restoration in the Solent: A Critical Evaluation of Public and Stakeholder Perspectives”. My course tutor, Dr. Jonathan Potts was extremely helpful and connected me with HIWWT to collaborate with them on the research project. HIWWT Solent seagrass restoration marine officer, Ellie Parker, and marine conservation senior specialist, Tim Ferrero, assisted and supported me throughout numerous aspects of the project including survey design, interview design and initial contact with important Solent coastal and marine stakeholders.

The local research project took around five months to complete and produced some ground-breaking results. One of the most critical findings of the study was that 78.7% of survey respondents ranked coastal and marine restoration, including seagrass restoration, within the top two most important activities within the Solent area. The study also established twelve key requirements and recommendations regarding current and future Solent seagrass restoration projects. The dissertation project won an award for the best project of the year within the MSc course. I recently delivered the research project presentation to the HIWWT team and other key organisations connected to the Solent Seascapes Project. I also hope to present at the forthcoming Solent Forum meeting in March 2023 and eventually publish an article in a popular journal. I am thankful to have been able to be a part of the HIWWT’s Seagrass Restoration Project, from volunteering, to conducting scientific research and contributing towards the initial stages of the Solent Seascapes Project. I would especially like to thank everyone who took part in the public survey and stakeholder interviews, my course leader, Dr Jonathan Potts, Solent seagrass restoration marine officer, Ellie Parker, marine conservation senior specialist, Tim Ferrero, and senior community engagement officer on the Solent Seascapes Project, Emily Stroud. I would also like to thank Jenny Murray and Louise MacCallum from Blue Marine Foundation for taking an interest in my work.