Celebrating success of the ScottishPower Foundation’s Marine Biodiversity Fund
.png)
When Glasgow hosted COP26 in 2021, the ScottishPower Foundation decided to create a lasting legacy from the environmental climate conference that had taken place in the city home to its headquarters and set up the Marine Biodiversity Fund.
Offering multi-year support to a project which contributes to the broader global agenda for environmental sustainability, the ScottishPower Foundation’s Marine Biodiversity Fund aims to leave a positive legacy for future generations and to align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Preserving Marine Life
The fund is committed to preserving marine life and supports projects that not only contribute to the enhancement and protection of the marine and coastal environment, but also educates people in the importance of environmental stewardship.
The first project to benefit from the Marine Biodiversity Fund was ‘Restoration Forth’, a multi-partner project co-ordinated by WWF, which was awarded £600,000 from the ScottishPower Foundation over a three-year period.
This was the first multi-year and biggest ever grant provided by the Foundation and helped support a team of scientists, charities and local community groups as they worked together to design a blueprint to restore and sustainably manage seagrass and oyster habitats for a thriving Firth of Forth.
Power of Seagrass
Often described as the ocean’s unsung hero, seagrass provides important habitat for marine life and is an incredible tool in the fight against climate change. Oyster reefs – which once flourished in the Forth – remove pollutants and provide sanctuary for a vast array of marine life.
As the three-year funding period comes to an end, Restoration Forth is celebrating a number of successes. Since 2021, over 30,000 European flat oysters have been reintroduced to the Firth of Forth, after an absence of more than 100 years, with monitoring showing that at least 85% of the oysters are now thriving in the area.
From East Lothian’s Belhaven Bay, through to Dalmeny’s Drum Sands, 156,000 seagrass seeds have been planted, with the Restoration Forth team working closely with the local community and schools in each town along the Forth to ensure a lasting legacy to their work.
Continuing the focus on community engagement, the project has involved over a thousand local volunteers who helped to both clean the oysters before they were placed back in the Forth and to process the seagrass before planting.
Big Rock Pool Challenge!
Such has been the unparalleled success of this first project, the ScottishPower Foundation is proud to announce the Big Rock Pool Challenge, led by the Marine Biological Association in partnership with the Rock Pool Project as the next recipient of a grant of up to £600,000 over the next three years from the Marine Biodiversity Fund.
The initiative focuses on UK coastal wildlife conservation and will establish volunteer-led monthly local marine wildlife events across the country to foster communities with a passion for local marine conservation. The project will provide comprehensive training and support to enable volunteers to lead these events, building capacity and community ownership.
Ultimately, the project will enhance marine species monitoring at locations across the country and empower local communities to participate in data collection using a pioneering approach to boost monitoring of invasive species and species of conservation concern.
Climate Emergency
Melanie Hill, Executive Officer and Trustee of the ScottishPower Foundation, said: “The climate emergency is very much at the forefront of all our minds and there’s no time to waste if we’re to reverse some of the damage being done across the marine ecosystem.
“I’m so proud of the Marine Biodiversity Fund as a shining example of how grant-giving can be used to support changemaking projects and help deliver results. We’re all excited for the next three years ahead as we support The Big Rock Pool Challenge.
“Bringing communities together to inspire and educate is at the very heart of the Fund’s ethos and helps ensure a real lasting legacy from COP26 as we continue to strive to leave the environment in a better place for generations to come.”
Find out more about the ScottishPower Foundation’s Marine Biodiversity Fund here