A man has set up a project to help repair the coastline by rewilding kelp from his garage.
Steven Allnutt founded the Sussex Seabed Restoration Project and has been trying to restore the coastline with different types of seaweed.
Having set up the Project with the goal of repairing the destroyed seabed in Sussex, he now wants to raise awareness of the biodiversity that the region has lost in recent years.
Steven said: “A lot of kelp growers start from their garage due to the low overheads.
“Kelp was once everywhere and we want to bring it back to the people. Almost all the kelp has gone and it’s because of human impact and the fact that we have exploited these areas.
“In time hopefully this will help to rewild the Sussex Waters.”
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Steven first began diving in the sea with his father in 1994 when he was just 12 years old and says he has always been around the water.
In the last 40 years around 97 per cent of kelp in Sussex has been destroyed.
He says that he has now set up a kelp hub in his garage to help re-wild the coastline. The process involves taking kelp spores from the sea and growing them on lines over the winter months.
The aim is to then grow the kelp on fishing lines before re-wilding these in the coming months. The process uses biodegradable materials, meaning no harm is done to the sea.
Currently the project is based between Shoreham and Worthing but eventually Steven wants to re-wild kelp across Sussex.
Steven has been filming the project and said: “We want people to visually see the benefits of bringing kelp back to the coast.”
To promote the project, Steven has partnered with Bedlam Brewery for the release of its new beer, High Tide. The beer, one of two new ones released, is part of an environmental commitment by the company to sustainably produce the drinks.
Bedlam Brewery is also part of 1% for the Planet, a commitment where the company donates one per cent of their annual sales to environmental and social causes in the community.
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