The visit provided a valuable opportunity to showcase the practical aspects of seagrass habitat restoration, a key initiative of the Wilder Humber project. The project is restoring 12 hectares of seagrass meadow in the Humber estuary, following significant national declines of this crucial habitat.
During the visit, the Minister, accompanied by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and Wilder Humber partners Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Ørsted, helped to collect seagrass seeds from an already thriving seagrass meadow which will be transplanted to another area of the mudflats, where a new meadow will be established.
Martin Slater, Deputy Chief Executive at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said, “We were delighted to welcome Emma Hardy MP and show directly how Wilder Humber’s ambitions and plans to restore vital seagrass will improve habitats in the Humber estuary. This restoration is critical not only for enhancing the marine environment but also for contributing to the fight against the climate crisis.”
Marine Minister Emma Hardy, said, “"It was a pleasure to join Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to see the brilliant work that they and partners are doing to restore seagrass habitats along the Humber estuary.
"Our seas and coastlines are fundamental to supporting wildlife and tackling climate change, and projects such as Wilder Humber are key to our ambitions to restore our natural environment."
Benj Sykes, Head of Environment, Consents and External Affairs from Ørsted, said: “We’re proud to be funding the restoration of these vital seagrass meadows near our operations on the east coast. It was impressive to witness the project’s progress first hand, with almost 8 hectares planted since my last visit two years ago and visible from the top of the sand dune! I enjoyed collecting the seagrass seeds with Emma Hardy MP as it really demonstrated the power of collaboration and real progress on restoring nature. These seagrass seeds we collected will be planted later this year by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to create a Wilder Humber.”
Tammy Smalley, Head of Conservation for Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and lead officer for the Wilder Humber project on the south side of the estuary stated, ‘Wilder Humber is at an exciting stage in the delivery timeline seeing the first seagrass planting on the Lincolnshire side this year, and the construction of a new seed bank and plant nursery for coastal species nearing completion. It was great to showcase to one of our new Defra Minister our industry partner, Ørsted, working with both Wildlife Trusts to bring nature back, and the circular thinking we are doing together. Emma was truly engaged and engaging.’
Wilder Humber is delivered through a pioneering conservation partnership between Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, and Ørsted. It trials a seascape scale model, combining sand dune, saltmarsh, seagrass, and native oyster restoration to maximise conservation and biodiversity benefits.
As part of the 5-year programme, the partnership aims to restore and enrich nearly 40 hectares of protected habitats and rebuild the Humber’s lost native oyster population to over half a million.
Wilder Humber works with local communities to tell the story of the restoration journey and provide opportunities to contribute to wildlife conservation in the Humber estuary.