This week, two members of the Eco Marine team had the exciting opportunity to attend the first Greater Thames Estuary Restoration Conference. The event was held by the Zoological Society of London at the Huxley Lecture Theatre in Regents Park, London. The conference focused on the wide range of restoration projects already occurring in the area as well as future planning and looking deeper into what drives restoration. Presentations and discussions were held by researchers, governments bodies, and industry specialists, allowing for a range of perspectives.
The programme began with rapid fire ‘speed talks’ which inspired an interesting start. These talks covered a range of projects being carried out in the Thames Estuary, from seagrass restoration and native oyster recovery to the beneficial use of dredged sediments and water quality trends. Longer form talks then formed the majority of the rest of the day and provided engaging insights into future planned projects such as shark and ray tagging, financial aspects such as biodiversity net gain plans, and how we can embed inclusivity into coastal restoration. The day wrapped up with a panel discussion on the key topics discussed throughout the day.
Eco Marine has carried out and continues to provide a range of characterising and monitoring projects in the Thames Estuary and so we look forward to seeing the progression of these projects and what restoration will look like for the area in the future.