Spotlight Series: How The Ocean Conservation Trust is being supported by Furthr

At GoodFX, we're always eager to collaborate with fellow innovators. The OCT’s work around seagrass propagation, and the development of Marine Carbon Credits certainly is a prime example of innovation where it truly matters. We could not help introducing them to Furthr, who share much in the way of philosophy and mission. 

About The Ocean Conservation Trust 

The Ocean Conservation Trust traces its roots to Plymouth, where a group of marine scientists, educators and divers joined forces to showcase healthy marine ecosystems - initially via the National Marine Aquarium. 

Their philosophy is grounded in optimism and agency: they believe there is hope for our oceans - but only if people take action. Their mission is to inspire ocean advocacy through connection with nature, all the while doing hands-on habitat restoration.

At the heart of their restoration work is Blue Meadows - their flagship seagrass protection, restoration and regeneration programme along the UK coastline. Under the Blue Meadows banner, the Ocean Conservation Trust has already protected 215 hectares of existing seagrass, restored 12 hectares of seagrass meadows, and engaged hundreds of people in awareness and advocacy work. 

Going Furthr on Seagrass Restoration

Furthr is a London-based sustainability and carbon accounting specialist. Their team of experts provide on-hand support for businesses to go further on their sustainability journey. GoodFX have partnered with Furthr for their own emissions reporting and to model and track the carbon footprint of their FX transactions, from start to finish. Furthr have been a client of GoodFX for the last three years, and we realised The Blue Meadows work perfectly aligned with Furthr’s mission. Casually introducing the two organisations earlier this year, Furthr now support OCT’s Blue Meadows programme through their international payments. 

Why Seagrass Matters - and Why It’s Urgent

Seagrass offers one of the most elegant, nature-based tools in the climate fight, with intrinsic co-benefits for biodiversity, fisheries and coastal resilience. Globally, however, seagrass is disappearing faster than nearly any other habitat on Earth. To date, any efforts to boost seagrass resolution have faced several constraints around seed supply, low germination rates, high labour costs, and geographic specifications. 

That is why the Ocean Conservation Trust is innovating around these issues, forcing their operations to a relatively unexplored frontier: bridging restoration, community engagement, and marine habitats carbon science.

Margot Bloch, Furthr’s Head of Strategy, said of this partnership: 

‘’We fully align with the Ocean Conservation Trust's belief: there is hope for the planet if we act together. Research is key, especially in the developing field of marine preservation and we're very happy to be contributing to local research, here in the UK. We know that any leap toward viable seagrass restoration will be a win for coastal areas all around the world. We're very grateful for GoodFX's donation to that forward thinking project and cannot wait to hear news from their ongoing research.’’

Looking Ahead

Over the next five years, the Ocean Conservation Trust plans to build capacity to restore 50 hectares of seagrass annually, protect a further 700 hectares, and produce a global blueprint for large-scale restoration.

To break through the bottle necks listed above, the Trust is also conducting research into alternative cultivation and propagation techniques which could produce plants without the need to rely on seeds. They are collaborating with many academic bodies, including Keele University on this research, with results being real potential game changers for local and global restoration efforts.

Bridging the Gap to Carbon Credits: Mini Meadows and the Quest for Verification

One of the most exciting parts of the conversation is around carbon credits or ecosystem credits in the maritime space, and how Blue Meadows might enable them. The challenge: terrestrial carbon markets benefit from decades of data and validated models. Marine carbon and biodiversity credits, especially for seagrass, lack that robust data. The Ocean Conservation Trust has already undertaken research into the robustness of a carbon credit in seagrass through the NEIRF report, and the outcome concluded that more data is needed for a high integrity credit.

Because nature cannot wait, the OCT has developed an interim model, the Mini Meadows Ocean Fund. One Mini Meadow represents 10 m² of healthy seagrass. This symbolic meadow can be funded for five years with a £50 donation, allowing donors a scalable way to support seagrass restoration whilst a verified model is in development. Mini Meadows provides a tangible, meaningful way to show support and measure impact today.

Jade Hammond at OTC notes:

"To bridge the gap toward formal credits, we just need more science. The Ocean Conservation Trust is actively contributing towards the development in the valuation of ecosystems services and natural capital of sub-tidal seagrass, helping to unlock sustainable financing for blue carbon habitat restoration in future."

Ready to Get Involved? 

The  optimism of the team at the Ocean Conservation Trust is real. Their work is rooted in solid experimentation but also driven by the strong belief that people can make a difference in marine restoration around the world. For donors, climate-conscious businesses, and impact investors, this is a space to watch - and ideally support!

If you’d like to engage more deeply, whether by funding mini meadows, collaborating on research, or helping build marine credit markets, the Ocean Conservation Trust is already ahead of the curve. Find out more about their work at https://oceanconservationtrust.org or speak to a GoodFX team member for further details.