If you would like to contribute to the cost of running the group, you can donate with a card on our Paypal page, even if you don’t have a Paypal account.

Notice

Due to increased work pressures and the increasing complexity of running Winchester Cafe Scientifique events, with regret, the group has no plans to schedule further talks after 5th August 2024. It has become too much for one peron, and there are no volunteers to take over.

The intention is to retain the website in case options emerge to restart in the future.

We are considering the possibility of more informal events, which would be publicised in the usual ways.

Venue

We meet at The Winchester Club (SO23 7AB), which is the large white building at the back of the Worthy Lane Car Park. All talks begin at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise.

Our YouTube Channel has recordings of some past talks.

Our final talk for the foreseeable future

Monday 5th August
“Restoring our native oyster across the Solent Seascape”
Eric Harris-Scott

The Solent was once home to the largest European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) fishery in Europe however, compounding human pressures over the last two centuries have caused the population to collapse resulting in the closure of the native oyster fishery in 2013. Since 2015, Blue Marine Foundation have been working towards restoring the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, in the Solent. Through novel techniques and pioneering restoration practices, Blue Marine has restored over 150,000 native oysters to the Solent, creating two restored reef sites and numerous oyster nursery sites. The success of the native oyster restoration has brought Blue Marine to the forefront of seascape restoration, restoring the connectivity between multiple coastal marine habitats, with the Solent Seascape Project.

Eric Harris-Scott – Solent Oyster Restoration Project Officer

Eric has been based in the Solent since starting his studies in 2015 at the University of Portsmouth, where he was looking into biodiversity associated with native oysters. Prior to joining Blue Marine, he worked on nature-based nutrient remediation solutions. He is driven to improve his local coastline through key habitat restoration.