Marine Meadows Workshop at Havens Beach, Sag Harbor
October 21, 2023
On a rainy Saturday morning at Havens Beach in Sag Harbor, community members rolled out by the dozens to help in our effort to restore eelgrass in the surrounding waters. Being a chilly fall day, our Back to the Bays staff were delighted by the turnout and the enthusiasm that never failed to shine through, even by those who typically steer clear of rain. The growing interest in supporting local marine ecology on the East End is palpable, and encourages us to continue our endeavors within research, restoration, and education.
Volunteers weaving eelgrass through biodegradable burlap planting units, more commonly referred to as “tortillas”.
Before our workshop at Havens Beach, our team harvested live eelgrass shoots from healthy meadows and brought them to shore for processing into burlap “tortillas” (reference image above).
Once stocked after the Marine Meadows Workshop, these eelgrass tortillas were planted at one of our restoration sites by CCE Marine’s Dive Team where they will go on provide essential habitat for finfish and shellfish and help improve water quality and coastal resiliency of our shorelines. To get an underwater view, check out the photos and videos below:
3000 eelgrass shoots were planted in our Sag Harbor site, thanks in large part to the hard work of our volunteers!
Our Dive Team monitoring eelgrass plantings in Sag Harbor after the Marine Meadows Workshop.
The main purpose of CCE’s Marine Meadows Program is to restore and monitor eelgrass, our dominant local seagrass species, Zostera marina. Eelgrass meadows provide essential habitat for many species during part or all stages of life. Due to the structure and protection they provide, eelgrass meadows are the most biodiverse marine habitats in our region. These meadows also help to prevent or lesson erosion from storm events and help control turbidity by slowing currents and settling particulates from the water column. Eelgrass meadows also capture excess nutrients such as nitrogen and sequester carbon to combat acidification of our waters caused by climate change.
Unfortunately, eelgrass populations have declined dramatically over the past 85 years due to many reasons, and without our help, will likely not make a comeback in the near future as there are no ready sources of propagules (seeds or adult shoots) to naturally vegetate these areas. This situation is called the propagule limitation and it is the basis for our restoration work. The more seeding and planting we can do, the better the outcome for our local marine meadows. We encourage you to get involved by participating in our workshops, and contributing to these important efforts.
All in all, we had an incredible turnout with lots of community support. Our team cannot stress how valued this involvement is, as we continue to restore eelgrass and support our local marine ecosystems.
Aquaculture Specialist, Kate Rossi-Snook, educating young marine stewards about the species that rely on eelgrass habitats at our workshop
Volunteers at our Marine Meadows event on October 21, making the most of a rainy day, weaving eelgrass shoots.
We have another Marine Meadows Workshop taking place at Sylvestor Manor on Shelter Island this coming Saturday, November 4 from 10 AM - 12 PM. If you would like to get involved, please register at the link provided below.
We hope to see you there!