Seagrass Guardians

Seagrass Guardians

Seagrass Guardians is an advocacy group initiated by a group of youth leaders. Our main objective is to raise awareness and educate the public on the importance of seagrass habitats, which have been neglected for decades. Seagrass provides a variety of ecological functions and services such as supporting a diversity of marine life, providing feeding grounds, breeding and nursery areas, coastal protection, and carbon sequestration and storage. At the same time, Seagrass Guardians also provide technical support to train citizen scientists on seagrass sighting reporting, monitoring and even restoration projects. All objectives are achieved through online platforms and offline initiatives such as social media, articles in magazine and blogs, awareness exhibitions, workshops and talks.

Besides actively participating in various events, Seagrass Guardians also work in partnership and collaboration with Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI/IPMB), EcoCampus Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Marine Ecology Research Centre, and ATO ClimatEducate to reach a wider audience. Topics such as blue carbon and roles of seagrass in mitigating climate change are prioritized in these collaborative partnerships. In 2019, a new partnership with Ara Dinawan Research Education and Conservation Center (ADRECC) was formed to establish long-term seagrass monitoring program and marine engineering projects to combat climate change. Michael Yap, the co-founder of Seagrass Guardians, is also one of the Research Associates at ADRECC.

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