Seascape Symposium II: Reconnecting the Seascape

Advancing science, policy and practice to reconnect coastal habitats for delivery of global nature restoration targets.

Temperate coastal habitats, such as saltmarsh, seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, and kelp forests, individually support a diverse abundance of marine life and hold critical value for climate regulation, water quality, and coastal defence. However, the potential for coastal habitats to deliver these ecosystem services is amplified when they co-exist as one connected habitat mosaic, forming the temperate coastal seascape.

These habitats and their associated biodiversity are, however, in peril. The European native oyster ecosystem has been assessed as collapsed under the IUCN Red List Assessment. Seagrass loss has accelerated over the last 100 years (with up to 90% of UK seagrasses lost), 50% of global saltmarshes are or degraded, kelp forests are declining by 1.8% annually, and 60% of existing kelp forests are degraded. As we reach halfway through the UN Decades on Ecosystem Restoration and Ocean Science for Sustainability, there is hope in the number and scale of scientific research and restoration of coastal habitats.

In 2022, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth held the first symposium on seascape ecological connectivity, with 150 scientists, regulators, policy makers and practitioners attending. This symposium aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange between habitat experts, connect scientists with practitioners and policy makers, and consider the evidence for ecological connectivity across coastal habitats in temperate waters. A following knowledge-analysis workshop and accompanying publications highlighted that a seascape approach to coastal habitat restoration could yield the required successes for the recovery of ecosystem function and provisioning by recognising the ecological connectivity and feedback systems that exist between habitats.

If restoration targets are to be delivered to meet the vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050, set out by the Global Biodiversity Framework, it is time to build on our understanding of the temperate seascape’s potential to deliver for nature and people at scale.

In June 2025, ZSL will hold a second symposium, “Reconnecting the Seascape”, in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth and the University of Edinburgh. Seascape Symposium II aims to connect experts working across habitats to increase understanding of the ecology, connectivity and interactions between habitats across the temperate seascape, advance how we assess the benefits from connecting restored habitats, and build a community of scientists, policymakers, and practitioners to deliver collaborative action to achieve restoration at scale. 

Image: Small-spotted catshark swimming through kelp © Lewis Jefferies

Speakers to be announced shortly, and bookings will open in due course. Please save the date in the meantime, and find more information on booking and cost below.

Symposium Themes

• Principles of seascape restoration
• Advances in habitat specific ecology related to upscaling restoration
• Advances in seascape restoration practice
• Overcoming barriers to scaling up nature-based solutions
• Community-driven conservation
• Monitoring restoration at the seascape scale
• How to measure connectivity
• Source-to-Sea approaches

Organising committee

• Alison Debney, Conservation Lead, Wetland Ecosystem Restoration, ZSL & Co-founder of Native Oyster Network
• Prof Joanne Preston, Seascape Ecology and Restoration, Co-founder of Native Oyster Network, University of Portsmouth & Solent Seascape Project
• Celine Gamble, Restoration Project Manager, ZSL
• Dr Philine zu Ermgassen, Marine Ecosystem Restoration Expert and Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh
• Morwenna Grigg, Coastal Habitat Restoration Project Officer, ZSL
• Harriet McAra, Science Communications and Events Manager, ZSL

Steering Committee

• Angus Garbutt, Senior Coastal Ecologist, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
• Boze Hancock, Senior Marine Habitat Restoration Scientist, The Nature Conservancy
• Caroline Price, Head of Nature & Environment, The Crown Estate
• Dan Crockett, Ocean and Climate Director, Blue Marine Foundation 
• Fiona Valesini, Seascapes Director (Australia), The Nature Conservancy
• Graham Underwood, Professor, University of Essex
• Lisa Wedding, Associate Professor, University of Oxford
• Morven Roberston, Funding Manager, Esmee Fairbairn
• Richard Lilley, Co-founder, European Seagrass Restoration Alliance
• Tom Worthington, Aquatic Ecologist, University of Cambridge
• Tundi Agardy, Marine Ecologist, Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme