Seagrass restoration is a collective effort! Last Monday, we had the privilege of hosting the Seagrass Community of Practice 2025 at Wageningen University. Together with Witteveen+Bos, we designed a program focused on knowledge exchange and collaboration. With 65 experts from academia, consultancy, government, and NGOs, we explored the latest insights and best practices in seagrass restoration.
The day started with my presentation on mutual lessons from rewilding and seagrass restoration, followed by Laura Govers, Prof. Dr. Govers, who provided an overview of recent developments in seagrass research and restoration in the Netherlands and beyond.
We then dived into Dutch restoration projects and research, with inspiring talks on restoration initiatives in the Wadden Sea Lisa Bruil, Veerse Meer and Grevelingen (Lea Hahn), and the Oosterschelde (Maite Vogel) and introduction by Marloes van der Kamp. After a walk through WUR’s agricultural fields, we arrived at our greenhouses, where we showcased tropical seagrass and mangrove cultures, as well as experimental setups for greenhouse gas measurements (by our wonderfull team Annie Vera Hunnestad, Celine van Bijsterveldt, Mandy Velthuis, Bart de Koster, Cato Koek).
The afternoon was dedicated to technology and upscaling, featuring presentations on restoration techniques by Roosmarijn Van Zummeren, multiagent AI-engine for insight into seagrass Aneesh Chauhan, European monitoring by the sea ranger efforts Sophie Hankinson Wietse Van Der Werf, and stakeholder engagement by Project Seagrass Richard Unsworth.
It was great to see such a diverse group of participants: researchers (WUR, RUG, NIOZ, Radboud University), consultants (Witteveen+Bos, Waardenburg Ecology, Altenburg & Wymenga), Deltares, Rijkswaterstaat, The Fieldwork Company, Van Oord, Sea Ranger Service, Ark Rewilding, Natuurmonumenten, and many enthusiastic Wageningen students working on seagrass-related topics.
The Seagrass Community of Practice 2025 is organized on behalf of Rijkswaterstaat by a consortium of RUG, The Fieldwork Company, Altenburg & Wymenga, and Witteveen+Bos. This consortium also leads seagrass restoration efforts in the Dutch Wadden Sea and the South-West Delta.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed—looking forward to continuing this important work together! 🤝💚
#SeagrassRestoration #CommunityOfPractice #EcosystemRecovery #Collaboration photos by Mabel Brekelmans and me