The 'secret weapon' in fight against climate change — planting eelgrass

We've all heard of planting trees to combat climate change and now a team in Nova Scotia is working on "reforestation" for the ocean. 

Dalhousie University and the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax are managing a project this summer to plant an often overlooked species — eelgrass — in the race to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

To the untrained eye, eelgrass looks like your average seaweed, but project lead Kristina Boerder says it's much more.

"It's a bit of a treasure, a secret treasure. Not a lot of people know about it," said Boerder.

Eelgrass boosts biodiversity along shorelines by provided shelter for young fish, crustaceans and even food for some waterfowl. It also has many benefits for humans.

"It protects our coasts from erosion. It's good for water quality. And also it stores our emissions. So it's a secret weapon in our fight [against] climate change," she says.

Eelgrass absorbs carbon and methane through photosynthesis and sequesters them in its root systems. One study estimates an acre of eelgrass can store over 335 kilograms of carbon per year. The equivalent of carbon emitted by a car driving from Yarmouth to Dingwall eight times.

It's carbon-storing root system also helps moderate levels of acid in the ocean which are rising due to climate change and damaging the health of some marine life.

But eelgrass meadows are shrinking according to researchers due to damage from trawling boats and coastal development. It's also disappearing due to invasive species like the European green crab. 

This loss of eelgrass meadows is a global phenomenon. By Boerder's estimate, the world loses up to two football fields worth of eelgrass each hour. She says something needs to be done.

Boerder, along with students from Dalhousie and volunteers from the Ecology Action Centre, have spent the summer with snorkels and wetsuits out in the water, working to regenerate this precious plant.

Amy Irvin is a marine biology masters student involved with the project who endures long, muddy, cold days to plant the eelgrass.

"When you see all the trees around you, you recognize how important they are. But then when you come to the ocean, you don't think about this," she said, holding up a piece of the eelgrass.

The team's days are long. Starting at 11 a.m. and going until 6 in the evening.