Nelson seagrass restoration project helping fight climate change [Video]

A seagrass restoration project in Nelson is helping fight climate change by developing a blueprint for how to save the special plant.

Seagrass meadows absorb a huge amount of carbon dioxide but are declining at an alarming rate around the world.

Fossicking around in Nelson’s estuaries, Anna Berthelsen from the Cawthron Institute is searching for seagrass flowers.

“They’re very cryptic so if you don’t know what you’re looking for they’re very difficult to see,” she said.

It’s part of a three-year project to reverse the rapid decline of our seagrass meadows.

“Like plants on land, we get the seeds then grow up the seedlings, and also put seeds back into wild and germinate and grow,” said Berthelsen.

Seagrass meadows are an important fish habitat; they improve water quality and absorb 10 percent of carbon in our oceans. However, globally they’re shrinking by about 7 percent a year.

“Sediments and nutrients …