Kier’s new partnership with the Ocean Conservation Trust’s Blue Meadows initiative involves funding seagrass meadows research and the launch of an 18-month post-graduate research project with the University of Plymouth.
It is being billed as the most detailed study in the UK to research subtidal seagrass beds, which are beds that remain underwater at low tide, and surrounding bare sediment. It will examine whether the meadows trap polluting microplastics under their beds and its impact on the environment.
Seagrass is recognised as one of the UK’s most important marine habitats and its long leaves are known to slow down the water current and trap small particles within the seagrass bed.
The study will observe the level of microplastics in animals living on, and feeding from, the seagrass leaves, and compare this to other habitats. It will test the theory that if higher microplastics levels are found in the seagrass sediment, but not in the animals, then seagrass can act as a sink for polluting particles by locking them away in the sediment – while also measuring the health and growth of the meadows.
Alongside the study, Kier will provide staff to help run outreach programmes to raise awareness of the importance of seagrass meadows along the UK coastline. It will also support the monitoring of restored and protected seagrass using remote operated vehicles (ROVs), condition mapping and environmental DNA (eDNA) testing – which takes samples to make discoveries about marine life, water quality and bacteria.
Matt Tompsett, head of sustainability and environment at Kier Transportation, said: “Our seagrass meadows need protecting and restoring. They are fantastic carbon sinks, rich in biodiversity, slow coastal erosion – and our study is focused on understanding if it can trap and remove microplastic from ocean. We are proud to be partnering with OCT and the University of Plymouth to support the protection and restoration of our seagrass meadows.”
Kier Transportation is exploring other nature-based solutions to microplastic pollution coming from the road network, seeking solutions that might mitigate the impact at the end of the pathway where it accumulates. It is also trialling the use of biochar with TerrAffix to remove microplastics from road runoff at source, which is when pollutants settle on the surface of the road build up during dry weather and are then washed into rivers and streams via the highway drainage system when it rains.
Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT) chief executive Ian McFadzen said: “Seagrass meadows are one of the world’s most efficient habitats in removing CO2, and are hotspots of biodiversity. Seagrass around the UK coast has declined drastically over the years, and there is a critical need to protect existing beds and restore the habitat we have lost.
“We have been working together with Matt and the team for a while now, so we are delighted to develop the partnership further with Kier Transportation’s support of OCT’s Blue Meadows programme, to protect and restore seagrass at scale.”
Further supporting OCTs protection programme, Kier will be repurposing waste concrete from schemes such as its £500m A417 missing link project to make sinker blocks for marker buoys. By marking sea grass meadows, they can be clearly located and minimise disruption to the seabed.
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