SEAWILDING
Rewilding Learning Day
Join us in the inspiring setting of Loch Craignish for a fascinating introduction to community-led marine habitat restoration, with Seawilding’s Philip Price.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The award-winning charity, Seawilding, is the UK's first community-led native oyster and seagrass restoration project. Their aim is to restore lost biodiversity, sequester carbon, create green jobs and mentor other community-based groups to do the same.
SBP has joined forces with Seawilding to offer this unique insight into their work restoring large areas of seagrass to Scotland’s coastal waters.
This learning day will also help you understand oyster bed restoration and learn how to survey native oyster release sites, monitoring growth, survival rates and biodiversity change. These complex, three-dimensional habitats filter billions of litres of seawater every day, with the shells of dead oysters creating reefs that lock up carbon, trap sediment on the seabed and provide nursery grounds for fish.
The Learning Day will cover:
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The benefits of rewilding the sea and why to start with oysters and seagrass.
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Oyster restoration:
- how to get your project started
- opportunities, challenges and barriers
- oyster survey techniques for both monitoring existing populations and assessing success of restoration efforts. We are planning this workshop over a low tide so we will be able to actually do one of these surveys at one of the restoration sites. This will provide essential data for Seawilding and allow participants an opportunity for hands-on learning.
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Seagrass restoration:
- where to begin and how to conduct a survey
- best practise for undertaking a restoration project
This Learning Day is for you if:
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You are part of a community group who is interested in starting marine habitat restoration.
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You are a student/graduate interested in the rewilding/marine science sector.
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You are interested in including the marine sector into your nature restoration project.
DATES
| DATES | GUIDE | STATUS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DATES: 28 Feb 2025 | GUIDES: Philip Price | STATUS: Open | BOOK NOW |
PRICE
£95
PRICE INCLUDES
- Tea/coffee/biscuits on arrival
- All guiding and take-home resources
- A certificate for course attendance
PRICE EXCLUDES
- Travel to/from the course
- Personal insurance
- Personal expenses
- Lunch
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Timings
Arrival from 9.30am for tea/coffee/biscuits, for a 10am start. The day will wrap up after lunch, around 4pm.
How do I get there?
Directions to Seawilding HQ: The Craignish Boathouse
From Glasgow: A82 A83 up Loch Lomond and Loch Fyne to Lochgilphead (approx. 2.5 hrs)
From Lochgilphead: 17 miles north on A816 turn left onto B8002 and follow signs to Ardfern (20 minutes)
From Oban: 23 miles south on A816, turn right onto B8002 and follow signs to Ardfern (40 minutes)
Drive through Ardfern village, continue on for approx 2.5 miles until you get to the Kirkton cemetery and a row of conifers
Park by the conifers
The shore-side boathouse, Seawilding’s HQ, is reached through an iron gate and down a short track. The gate is just before the turn off to the cemetery.
The nearest postcode is PA31 8QS
Google link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VamNXjCLQSzv6AFo9
What3words: ///shin.atlas.noted
Facilities
- Access to tea/coffee
- Access to toilets
What size are your groups?
This Learning Day accommodates up to 12 participants.
Is the course suitable for me?
Most of the day will be spent on location at Seawildings rewilding HQ, which is in the middle of their restoration area. Therefore we will be mixing some classroom based discussions with outside practical applications at our restoration sites. These are intertidal and thus we will be accessing sites at low tide which in general is pretty firm underfoot but wet.
If you want to discuss suitability further, please get in touch with our Rewilding Training Lead.
Read our FAQ's for more info
Venue
Seawilding is actively rolling-out their best-practise, low-cost marine habitat restoration methodologies to other community groups across Scotland. They do this from their Headquarters on the banks of Loch Craignish where our Learning Day will be held in The Craignish Boathouse.
