Restoration Forth
Welcome to the March 2026 edition of the Restoration Forth newsletter
Restoration Forth aims to restore seagrass meadows and European flat oysters into the Firth of Forth, to create a healthier coastline for people and nature. Whether you have been taking part in the project practical sessions, focus groups or are just interested in how to get involved, thank you for your time and enthusiasm!
Find out more about the project here .
News
Spring is springing, which is bringing great joy, and we’ve all enjoyed seeing so many of you over the last few weeks of events - thanks for joining us!
Oyster biosecurity and deployments
Much of our time was spent arranging and cleaning oysters for our spring deployment. And, as the phrase goes - many hands made light work of the 14,000+ oysters that we cleaned in February and March. All those oysters have now found their homes in the Firth of Forth and we will continue to monitor how they get on.
Photo credit: Naomi Arnold
We want to extend a HUGE thank you to all that turned out to help us. Due to your tireless effort we have managed to hit our target of over 60,000 oysters - 60,877 to be precise! - restored to the Forth. Some of you will remember that this number is double our original target, which we feel so proud of and couldn’t have met without many of you volunteering with us over the last few years.
Do check out our story in The Herald: New milestone for Firth of Forth oyster restoration project | The Herald
Seagrass Awareness Month
As some of you will know, in March we celebrate Seagrass Awareness Month, looking to spread the good word about why monitoring and mapping the presence, and absence, of seagrass is so important.
We have delivered a couple of SeagrassSpotter sessions with our friends at Project Seagrass, and learned a lot about how the seagrass meadows around the Forth are changing. Keeping track of these changes helps us understand how we can best restore, and mitigate harm to, these vital habitats.
Photo credit: Naomi Arnold
When you’re next walking along the coast, whether you see seagrass or not, why not document your findings on the SeagrassSpotter App or webpage: SeagrassSpotter
Blue communities survey
Are you local to the shorelines across Edinburgh, Musselburgh, Largo or Anstruther? Does water quality impact your use of coastal waters? The University of Stirling is calling for participants to take part in an online survey focusing on how local people value and use the sea as part of the Blue Communities of the Forth River Basin project. Contribute your views here.
Restoration Forth Project Evaluation
Last year, WWF completed an evaluation of the Restoration Forth project, so that we can endeavour to improve our management and delivery of projects like this. Project partners and volunteers were interviewed as part of this process, so thanks to those who offered their time. If you are interested in the results, you can read a summary here.
What’s On
Edinburgh:
Oyster biosecurity, Heriot-Watt University, various dates in April.
Support our friends on the DEEP project with their oyster restoration work: Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project | Eventbrite