Future Talks

If you would like to contribute to the cost of running the group, you can donate with a card on our Paypal page, even if you don’t have a Paypal account.

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Venue

We meet at The Winchester Club (SO23 7AB), which is the large white building at the back of the Worthy Lane Car Park. All talks begin at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise.

Our YouTube Channel has recordings of some past talks.

Monday 4th December “Seagrass Conservation and Restoration in a WILDER Solent” Dr Tim Ferrero

There will also be mince pies!

Ocean floor covered in lush green swaying seagrass. Shafts of light shine down from the surface of the water.

Photo by Geoff Trodd on Unsplash

Seagrass meadows are vital marine habitats, important for supporting biodiversity, storing “Blue Carbon” and providing many more ecosystem services. The Solent supports internationally important seagrass meadows, but over 90% have been lost in the last 100 years and they are still under threat. Dr Ferrero will introduce these fascinating habitats, their conservation and ongoing efforts at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to restore seagrass meadows to their former extent.

Image shows Dr Tim Ferrero, who is a white bearded man with a friendly expression. He is wearing silver-coloured eyeglasses and a beige bucket-style sunhat. Dr Ferrero is holding what appears to be a shark or ray egg case.

Dr Tim Ferrero

Dr Tim Ferrero is a marine biologist and conservationist working at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT), raising awareness of the marine life, habitats and protected areas of the Solent. Tim’s work at HIWWT contributes to delivery of the HIWWT’s “Wilder Solent” vision, marine data collection and dissemination, citizen science and marine education and engagement. Tim is currently leading HIWWT’s efforts to restore seagrass habitats through our “Solent Seagrass Restoration Project” and “Solent Seascape Project”. Tim also runs volunteer-led survey work on the EU Life recreation ReMEDIES project, seeking to reduce recreational impacts on seagrass.

Prior to his move to HIWWT in 2013, Tim worked for over 23 years at the Natural History Museum in London as a researcher and consultant on the ecology and taxonomy of marine free-living nematode worms.

Tim’s work has taken him all over the world, including five memorable trips to Antarctica and by way of contrast, he once undertook fieldwork in Kuwait in temperatures of 54°C, but he is very happy to be back on the Hampshire coast where he grew up in the late 60s and 70s.