A new sculpture depicting seagrass has been installed on Hull’s waterfront highlighting a unique ongoing rewilding project in the Humber estuary. The five-year programme involves restoring around 40 hectares of lost biodiversity to the estuary through the creation of new sand dunes, saltmarsh, seagrass and native oyster colonies.
Seagrass in the Humber
The Humber once supported vast seagrass meadows across both banks, with records of dwarf seagrass covering over 500 hectares at Spurn Point and vast swathes from Grimsby to Cleethorpes. However, due to industrialisation and a subsequent decline in water quality, disease and coastal squeeze, the expansive seagrass beds deteriorated almost completely between the 1930s and 1980s.
As the world’s only flowering plant capable of living in seawater, seagrass globally captures carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, accounting for up to 18% of total ocean carbon storage despite covering less than 0.1% of the seafloor. The plant can also help protect coastlines from damaging storms and erosion through dampening the force of waves and is very effective at removing pollutants.
Seagrass meadows also support biodiversity by providing essential nursery habitat for important fish species, such as bass and sand eel, and bird species such as Brent geese.
Seagrass sculpture at The Deep
The new sculpture near Hull’s award-winning aquarium The Deep doubles as a plastic bottle recycling bin.
Having grown up in a tiny village at the northern end of Spurn Point, sculptor Emma Stothard said the sculpture reflected those natural influences from his childhood.
“Creating Seagrass for The Deep was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness and celebrate how important our seagrass meadows are. The sculpture represents the little bags of seeds that are planted in the Humber estuary, which over time grow to create swathes of seagrass meadows that capture carbon and restore vital feeding grounds.
“We too can help the environment by recycling our plastic bottles in Seagrass and at the same time learn a little bit more about this amazing plant.”
Wilder Humber
Funding for the artwork came from Wilder Humber, a partnership between the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and energy firm Ørsted. Martin Slater, deputy chief executive at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said:
“We are delighted to support the installation of the Seagrass sculpture and recycling bin at The Deep as part of our Wilder Humber restoration project. Through the new sculpture, we hope to highlight the importance of healthy seagrass for our marine ecosystems and raise awareness of seagrass in the Humber estuary both as a valuable habitat for marine species and as an incredible ally in the fight against climate change.”
Ben Jones, director of husbandry and exhibition at The Deep, said:
“We are looking forward to seeing plenty of visitors and passers-by alike learning more about the important conservation action that is taking place on our doorstep. Up to 12 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the oceans each year, which has a significant impact on our marine ecosystems.“
Together we can work to change this shocking statistic and protect the environment by choosing to reduce the use of single-use plastic.”
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