A Force for Good: Seawilding

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"My time working in the luxury travel industry started 13 years ago following a backpacking trip around South East Asia and Australia. At the time of joining the world of luxury travel, I was working as a worldwide travel consultant arranging trips anywhere and everywhere."

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Pete

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Arriving at Loch Craignish on the wild west coast of Scotland, I was instantly blown away by the beauty of the area. And despite breathtaking scenery lining the doorstep of the Seawilding HQ, our reason for being here was to understand more about what was happening beneath the water’s surface, rather than what the eye could see.

Being greeted by Danny, the CEO and founder of the Seawilding project, along with team members Will and Philip, it quickly became clear how much passion they have for their project, which I found truly inspiring. In just a few minutes of introduction we were able to learn so much about their reasons for doing what they do and their vision for the future of the project, their dedication to the cause evident when they spoke.

Loch Craignish, where Seawilding is based, has been victim to overfishing and a seabed that has been completely destroyed by dredging of the sea floor. What was once an area teeming with a huge variety of marine life has been left almost barren. This is by no means unique to Loch Craignish as across the globe, 92% of seagrass has been destroyed, leaving a detrimental trail of destruction for future generations to address.

Seawilding is a community led project that is trying to reverse these years of damage and restore the lost biodiversity the Scottish waters were once home to. In identifying the benefits of both seagrass and native oyster restoration, Danny and his team are in the early stages of an exciting journey that could have huge ramifications for Loch Craignish and much further afield.

The native oyster restoration project has a clear aim of improving water quality in Loch Craginish as each oyster reintroduced is able to filter 50 litres of water. In turn, the improved water quality creates a more favourable environment for seagrass to grow, meaning the two projects work harmoniously with each other. The restoration of seagrass has two major benefits, the sequestration of carbon and the creation of a vital, diverse habitat for a wide variety of marine species.

Despite their work being focussed on one location, we quickly learned on the day that the work the Seawilding team are doing will have a positive impact on salmon populations as far away as the Arctic. Learning just how interlinked our marine environment is across the globe was truly fascinating.

By partnering with Seawilding, True Travel and our clients have the opportunity to be part of something incredibly exciting that should have far-reaching benefits. The contributions that our clients make will enable the Seawilding team to focus on how they make their processes more efficient and effective in equal measure, this will take them even closer to restoring Loch Craignish’ waters to their former glory and creating a blueprint for others to follow in the future.