Eelgrass Restoration

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Beginning this winter, join Pleasant Bay Stewards in a pilot eelgrass monitoring and restoration effort encouraging community engagement and action in marine science. 

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Eelgrass is one of 72 seagrass species globally. In the North Atlantic, eelgrass naturally grows on the North American east coast as well as the west coast of Europe. Being an aquatic plant, eelgrass takes in carbon dioxide and nitrogen, releasing oxygen. According to Project Seagrass, only one acre of seagrass can provide enough oxygen in one day for nearly 100 people.

With global warming and a history of harmful fishing practices, eelgrass populations around the world are at risk. Luckily, there's a small yet determined group of scientists working to restore and protect eelgrass, as well as educate the community about its importance to our marine ecosystems.

On Cape Cod, Pleasant Bay Stewards hopes that by creating a team of citizen scientists, we will be able to map eelgrass, collect seeds for planting, and then disperse seeds across the beds as a means of adding to the natural population and restoring it to its former density.

More information on how to get involved to come...

Pleasant Bay Stewards is excited to encourage our community to rise to the occasion and take on this project as citizen scientists! More information on a Blue Carbon Speaker Series event, held at Pleasant Bay Community Boating, will be available to the public soon. Learn about volunteer recruitment on the Steward Guide page.