The Project

Title: (Sea)Grassroots Community Restoration for Reef Health and Resilience

Duration: 2025 – 2027

Project Partners: Central Queensland University (CQU), OzFish Unlimited, Coral Sea Marina 

Funding: The program received grant funding from the Australian Government

Summary: The (Sea)Grassroots Project is a three-year community-driven seagrass restoration initiative designed to improve the health and resilience of critical inshore habitats in the Great Barrier Reef.

Objective: Seagrasses are the unsung heroes of the reef supporting diverse marine life, stabilising sediments, filtering water, and capturing carbon. Through a combination of hands-on restoration and knowledge-building, this project will empower local communities and Traditional Owners to take an active role in protecting and restoring these vital ecosystems.

Priorities

The core priority of this project is increasing community-driven seagrass restoration within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Building on the success of a pilot project at Pioneer Bay, Cannonvale, this project will expand restoration efforts to Sarina, where the community will be involved in seagrass restoration.

The project also includes a critical research component at Dingo Beach, focused on advancing restoration techniques for Halodule uninervis, a widespread yet under-researched seagrass species in the GBR. Led by Central Queensland University, research will include seed production and comparative restoration trials.

Project Strategy

The (Sea)Grassroots project aims to build long-term stewardship for seagrass habitats by:

• Seagrass education and volunteering opportunities for the Sarina community
• Increasing local seagrass nursery capacity with new infrastructure at Coral Sea Marina
• Boosting local employment with a new role to support nursery management
• Collecting seagrass flowers, seagrass cores and dispersing seed balls for restoration and research
• Monitoring key restoration sites

With the help of volunteers, Traditional Owners, and partners like OzFish, this project aims to build long-term stewardship for seagrass habitats, supporting natural recovery and resilience for the Great Barrier Reef.

Get Involved!

Community participation is central to the success of the (Sea)Grassroots Project. Opportunities for involvement include:

• Collecting seagrass flowers,
• Collecting seagrass cores
• Dispersing seed balls for restoration
• Monitoring key restoration sites.

No prior experience is needed, just a willingness to get involved and help protect your local marine environment!

Subscribe our newsletter, follow us on Facebook and check out the events calendar to keep track of upcoming events. Want to be the first to know? Sign up to our volunteer list!