January 2026
In 2026 we WILL CONTINUE OUR SEAGRASS restoration activities AT ALL THREE SITES: the nationaal Park Oosterschelde, le Parc naturel marin du Bassin d’Arcachon AND l’Étang de Berre.
January was a dominated by administrative tasks as we prepared for the Kick Off meeting of Interreg NWE REBORN which runs from November 2025 through until June 2029. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen is the Lead Partner for the project which brings together 11 partners from across 5 nations (Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany) to foster greater collaboration for seagrass restoration in North-West Europe.
February 2026
February began with the Interreg NWE approved projects seminar in Lille (10th-11th) before the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen hosted the Interreg NWE REBORN kickoff meeting at De Herdershut, from the 17th-20th February on the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog. A summary of the REBORN project can be read on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration website here.
March 2026
From 17-20 March we planted our Zostera noltii seeds at our restoration site at Roelshoek and our Zostera marina seeds at our restoration site at Oude Tonge. Both of these sites are within the National Park Oosterschelde.
Then from 24th-27th March we did some further monitoring and baseline sampling of the sediment microbiome at our Zostera noltii restoration site at Batidou in the Étang de Berre. The sun was out so these new seagrass patches were producing a lot of oxygen bubbles! In May we will transplant further Zostera noltii seagrass sods into this site, and then will ultimately resample the sediment microbiome to see how it changes before and after restoration (e.g. first without, and then with, seagrass).
April 2026
A major focus for April was site reconnaissance for potential seagrass sites across North-West Europe as part of REBORN. First up was a trip to the Wadden Sea National Park in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany (left image), before later visiting Nieuwpoort (central image) and Oostende (right image), both potential future seagrass sites in Belgium.
May 2026
In the first week of May, as part of REBORN, the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen team hosted Juan Lugilde Yáñez from the University of Galway, Ireland so he could participate and be trained in our large-scale Zostera noltii seagrass transplanting methods in the National Park Oosterschelde.
The following week, again as part of REBORN, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen then hosted Dr Riccardo Pieraccini and colleagues from the Universiteit Gent to set up a collaborative seed study – we’re together to optimise seed-based restoration for both Zostera marina and Zostera noltii.
During the last two weeks of May, in the Étang de Berre GIPREB began their annual seagrass restoration weeks, aided once again by the Sea Ranger Service.
June 2026
On the 1st of June the European Seagrass Restoration Alliance published the European Seagrass Recommendations 2026. The document, co-created by representatives from 20 European countries, represents a consensus policy document that presents eight science-backed recommendations for the future of seagrass restoration in Europe. Laura and RJ delivered this document to the Directorate-General for Environment on the 4th of June in Brussels.
In the second week of June, Florine, Laura, RJ and Bai (Sea Ranger Service) traveled to Niedersachsen in Germany to visit REBORN partners ‘The Lower Saxon Department for Water, Coastal and Nature Conservation’ (German: Niedersächsischer Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz or simply NLWKN). Here we visited two potential pilot sites, Bensersiel and Solthörner Watt to understand more about the historical dynamics of these Wadden Sea seagrass meadows.
In the third week of June, RJ traveled to Galway in Ireland to visit REBORN partners the University of Galway and Natural Capital Ireland. Here we visited the Irish REBORN pilot site Killala Bay and monitored the transplants that were undertaken here as part of the EU funded project CLIMAREST (Grant Agreement No. 101093865). On the 16th of June RJ presented the European Seagrass Recommendations 2026 as part of a Documentary Premiere and Poster Launch.
Seagrass: The Hidden Life Beneath Our Shores
Film by Zero Waste Alliance Ireland (ZWAI) in collaboration with University of Galway. Directed and produced by Órla Coutin Fitzsimons.
July 2026
In July both our National Park Oosterschelde and le Parc naturel marin du Bassin d’Arcachon sites benefited from site visits by Prof. Dr. Laurent Barillé and Prof. Dr. Pierre Gernez from the Université de Nantes. At both of our sites the Université de Nantes trained us in ‘best-practice’ restoration site monitoring using drones for remote sensing. These knowledge exchanges are part of the REBORN project.
Later in July, RJ joined Thomas and Florine in Bassin d’Arcachon to continue to develop the development of le Parc naturel marin du Bassin d’Arcachon‘s public involvement and civic engagement programme. However, the wildfires meant we had to adapt our plans. As such, we pioneered the deployment of a RUV in the bay to investigate fish assemblages. Remote Underwater Video’s (RUVs) are now routinely used to describe demersal fish populations, since the frame and camera be left free standing on the seafloor without the need of an operator.
We also visited our restoration site at “Gaillard”, where Seaboost have deployed their Seaboost Roselière® in different configurations and where the Sea Ranger Service have transplanted Zostera noltii with the Seaboost Roselière®. The 15m Seaboost Roselière® configuration is working well!
Our wider site monitoring reveals that Zostera noltii seagrass in this area of the Bassin d’Arcachon is expanding. However a population expansion of both the invasive mussel Arcuatula senhousia (first recorded in the bay in 2002) and significant areas of seagrass smothered in various macroalgaes is tempering our excitement.
August 2026
In August, RJ, Thomas and Florine and continued the monitoring of the seagrass restoration test stations across le Parc naturel marin du Bassin d’Arcachon. Additionally the Zostera marina seagrass seeds that were collected by the OFB Scientific Divers in June 2026 were sorted and put into storage, as well as the first Zostera noltii seagrass seeds collected by the OFB ahead of the 6e édition des chantiers participatifs commencing on August 11th 2026.
On Saturday 8th August RJ and Florine attended the AGM of local Association Les Amis du littoral nord bassin d’Arcachon to present the work of le Parc naturel marin du Bassin d’Arcachon to date, and to explore opportunities for their involvement and engagement in the seagrass restoration programme as part of Interreg NWE REBORN
RJ attended the 15th European Conference on Ecological Restoration (SERE2026) from August 24th – 28th, 2026 in Brest, France to present Interreg NWE REBORN.
September 2026
Coming in September…
October 2026
Coming in October…
November 2026
Coming in November…
December 2026
Coming in December…