It is a privilege being a Foundation trustee and being able to give money to worthy causes. Sometimes the donations we make are in support of positive fundraising actions being made by partners and staff of the Altor business. In the case of our recent donation of £3,000 to the World Wildlife Fund’s Seagrass project it was in memory of a wonderful individual, Reuben Dossett. We lost Reuben far too early, in the spring of 2021, aged 19.
Reuben loved wildlife and our planet, he studied geography to better understand human impact on habitats and wanted to find sustainable ways to help our ecosystems. We have donated to the WWF’s project on ‘Planting Hope’ which fits with his aspirations.
Planting Hope
Seagrass is a wonder-plant that lives in shallow, sheltered areas along our coast. It is vital to the health of our seas and can help address environmental problems. Seagrass captures carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests and, even though it only covers 0.2% of the seafloor, it absorbs 10% of the ocean’s carbon each year, making it an incredible tool in the fight against climate change. Seagrass is vital for marine life, which depends on the meadows for food and shelter. A 10,000m2 area can support 80,000 fish and over a million invertebrates. Seagrass is an important nursery for endangered wildlife such as seahorses, as well as many of the fish we eat, including cod, plaice and pollock.
In the UK, up to 92 per cent of our seagrass has disappeared in the last century. We’re working with Sky Ocean Rescue and Swansea University to bring these incredible underwater meadows back to life, by launching the biggest seagrass restoration project ever undertaken in the UK.
From tiny seeds great meadows may grow, and with them our hopes of a greener, cleaner future.