Latest news with #saltmarsh
CBS News
03-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
There's a salt marsh in Boston where you can see more than 200 species of birds
Did you know there is great spot in East Boston for bird watching where you can also enjoy nature? Belle Isle Marsh Reservation is the largest remaining salt marsh in the city. "You can be out there on the main street then you come in here and you're in a different place in a different time," said Heather Famico of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). "It's a place you can come to look at birds. We have over 200 species. You can come for a walk. You can look at the skyline. You can look at the planes overhead if that's your type of bird" Famico said. Much of Boston used to be marshland like this, including the Back Bay, South Bay, Mill Pond and more. Those areas were filled in, and Belle Isle almost suffered the same fate in the 1980s. "This area was looked at to be developed, and the people of East Boston said 'no we don't want that,'" said Kannan Thiruvengadam with the non-profit organization Friends of Belle Isle. Why are salt marshes important? Salt marshes provide a buffer against storm surge and coastal erosion. They also provide other benefits. "Along with climate crisis and a loss of biodiversity we have a rising mental health crisis in our society. You come to a space like this, you calm down, you destress, you feel better" Thiruvengadam said. Despite the public benefit and conservation status, the marsh is under constant threat. "Between the rising seas and rising buildings, what is the marsh supposed to do? It goes through what we call a coastal squeeze or coastal pinch. Eventually we will not have a Belle Isle Marsh, we will have a Belle Isle Bay," Thiruvengadam said. While DCR maintains the marsh, Thiruvengadam said the best way for the public to get involved is to visit. "It's a cool oasis in a hot city. We need this. We need to be out here, enjoying, appreciating, advocating and learning what it is that we need so we can then protect it," Thiruvengadam said. DCR offers programming at the reservation. For more information, click here.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change, report finds
The UK's saltmarshes are vital "sinks" that lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, according to a new report from WWF. Much of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost to agriculture but the charity says they are unsung heroes in nature's fight against climate change. It is now calling for these muddy, tidal habitats to be added to the official UK inventory of how much carbon is emitted and how much is removed from our atmosphere every year. This formal recognition could, it hopes, provide more of an incentive to restore and protect more of these sites. Working with researchers from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a WWF team installed solar-powered greenhouse gas monitoring stations on Hesketh Out Marsh, a saltmarsh in North-West England that has been restored and is managed by the RSPB. Analysing gases in the air flowing around the marsh - over the course of a year - revealed how plants there "breathe in" more carbon dioxide in the summer than they release in winter. These new findings build on previous studies that have measured the amount of carbon in the marshland's mud. To carry it out, the team fixed analytical equipment to a sturdy 2.5m tall tower made of scaffolding poles. The site is regularly flooded by the tide, so the tower has kept their kit safe from salt water and debris. With WWF's ocean conservation specialist, Tom Brook as our guide, we waded through the thigh-high grass to visit the site of the experiment. At low tide, the sea is not visible beyond the expanse of grassland, but the area is littered with driftwood, some plastic waste and there is even a small, upturned boat nearby. "The plants grow so quickly here in spring and summer that they almost grow on top of each other - layering and decomposing," Tom said. "That captures carbon in the soils. So while we're typically taught about how trees breathe in carbon and store that in the wood, here salt marshes are doing that as mud. "So the mud here is just as important for climate mitigation as trees are." WWF has published its first year of findings in a report called The Importance of UK Saltmarshes. Unusually, this been co-published with an insurance company that is interested in understanding the role these sites have in protecting homes from coastal flooding. The UK has lost about 85% of its saltmarshes since 1860. They were seen as useless land and many were drained for agriculture. Hesketh Out Marsh has been restored - bought by the wildlife charity RSPB and re-flooded by tide. Now, in late spring, it is teeming with bird life. A variety of species, including avocets, oyster catchers and black-tailed godwits, probe the mud for food and nest on the land between lagoons and streams. The researchers hope the findings will help make the case to restore and protect more of these muddy bufferzones between the land and the sea. "The mud here is so important," explained Alex Pigott, the RSPB warden at Hesketh Out Marsh. "It's is like a service station for birds." With their differently shaped bills - some ideal for scooping and some for probing - marshland birds feed in the tidal mud. "We know these sites act as a natural flood defences, too and that they store carbon," said Ms Pigott. "Any any of these habitats that we can restore will be a big win for nature."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change, report finds
The UK's saltmarshes are vital "sinks" that lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, according to a new report from WWF. Much of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost to agriculture but the charity says they are unsung heroes in nature's fight against climate change. It is now calling for these muddy, tidal habitats to be added to the official UK inventory of how much carbon is emitted and how much is removed from our atmosphere every year. This formal recognition could, it hopes, provide more of an incentive to restore and protect more of these sites. Working with researchers from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a WWF team installed solar-powered greenhouse gas monitoring stations on Hesketh Out Marsh, a saltmarsh in North-West England that has been restored and is managed by the RSPB. Analysing gases in the air flowing around the marsh - over the course of a year - revealed how plants there "breathe in" more carbon dioxide in the summer than they release in winter. These new findings build on previous studies that have measured the amount of carbon in the marshland's mud. To carry it out, the team fixed analytical equipment to a sturdy 2.5m tall tower made of scaffolding poles. The site is regularly flooded by the tide, so the tower has kept their kit safe from salt water and debris. With WWF's ocean conservation specialist, Tom Brook as our guide, we waded through the thigh-high grass to visit the site of the experiment. At low tide, the sea is not visible beyond the expanse of grassland, but the area is littered with driftwood, some plastic waste and there is even a small, upturned boat nearby. "The plants grow so quickly here in spring and summer that they almost grow on top of each other - layering and decomposing," Tom said. "That captures carbon in the soils. So while we're typically taught about how trees breathe in carbon and store that in the wood, here salt marshes are doing that as mud. "So the mud here is just as important for climate mitigation as trees are." WWF has published its first year of findings in a report called The Importance of UK Saltmarshes. Unusually, this been co-published with an insurance company that is interested in understanding the role these sites have in protecting homes from coastal flooding. The UK has lost about 85% of its saltmarshes since 1860. They were seen as useless land and many were drained for agriculture. Hesketh Out Marsh has been restored - bought by the wildlife charity RSPB and re-flooded by tide. Now, in late spring, it is teeming with bird life. A variety of species, including avocets, oyster catchers and black-tailed godwits, probe the mud for food and nest on the land between lagoons and streams. The researchers hope the findings will help make the case to restore and protect more of these muddy bufferzones between the land and the sea. "The mud here is so important," explained Alex Pigott, the RSPB warden at Hesketh Out Marsh. "It's is like a service station for birds." With their differently shaped bills - some ideal for scooping and some for probing - marshland birds feed in the tidal mud. "We know these sites act as a natural flood defences, too and that they store carbon," said Ms Pigott. "Any any of these habitats that we can restore will be a big win for nature."
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change
The UK's saltmarshes are vital "sinks" that lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, according to a new report from of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost to agriculture but the charity says they are unsung heroes in nature's fight against climate is now calling for these muddy, tidal habitats to be added to the official UK inventory of how much carbon is emitted and how much is removed from our atmosphere every formal recognition could, it hopes, provide more of an incentive to restore and protect more of these sites. Working with researchers from the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a WWF team installed solar-powered greenhouse gas monitoring stations on Hesketh Out Marsh, a saltmarsh in North-West England that has been restored and is managed by the gases in the air flowing around the marsh - over the course of a year - revealed how plants there "breathe in" more carbon dioxide in the summer than they release in new findings build on previous studies that have measured the amount of carbon in the marshland's carry it out, the team fixed analytical equipment to a sturdy 2.5m tall tower made of scaffolding poles. The site is regularly flooded by the tide, so the tower has kept their kit safe from salt water and WWF's ocean conservation specialist, Tom Brook as our guide, we waded through the thigh-high grass to visit the site of the experiment. At low tide, the sea is not visible beyond the expanse of grassland, but the area is littered with driftwood, some plastic waste and there is even a small, upturned boat nearby."The plants grow so quickly here in spring and summer that they almost grow on top of each other - layering and decomposing," Tom said. "That captures carbon in the soils. So while we're typically taught about how trees breathe in carbon and store that in the wood, here salt marshes are doing that as mud."So the mud here is just as important for climate mitigation as trees are."WWF has published its first year of findings in a report called The Importance of UK Saltmarshes. Unusually, this been co-published with an insurance company that is interested in understanding the role these sites have in protecting homes from coastal UK has lost about 85% of its saltmarshes since 1860. They were seen as useless land and many were drained for agriculture. Hesketh Out Marsh has been restored - bought by the wildlife charity RSPB and re-flooded by tide. Now, in late spring, it is teeming with bird life. A variety of species, including avocets, oyster catchers and black-tailed godwits, probe the mud for food and nest on the land between lagoons and researchers hope the findings will help make the case to restore and protect more of these muddy bufferzones between the land and the sea."The mud here is so important," explained Alex Pigott, the RSPB warden at Hesketh Out Marsh. "It's is like a service station for birds."With their differently shaped bills - some ideal for scooping and some for probing - marshland birds feed in the tidal mud."We know these sites act as a natural flood defences, too and that they store carbon," said Ms Pigott. "Any any of these habitats that we can restore will be a big win for nature."
