Clare Maynard
“I founded Green Shores, a multi-award-winning saltmarsh restoration project led by the University, in partnership with nature conservation authorities and coastal landowners, like the Ministry of Defence and St Andrews Links Trust.
“We are Scotland’s longest running coastal restoration project and the UK’s only dedicated saltmarsh growing facility. Saltmarshes are a treasure trove of rich and unique wildlife and globally recognised for the protection they give to valuable land assets from flooding and erosion.
“Unfortunately, these natural resources are under mounting pressure from climate change and historic poor practices on adjacent land. Given how important saltmarshes are and the benefits they provide, we work with government advisors and coastal landowners to make these important habitats more resilient.
“I also act as Biodiversity Advisor on other university-led projects, sitting within the Eden Campus team – a unit of dedicated individuals in the vanguard of the University’s sustainability plans and drive to net zero.
“In an ideal world, I would restore saltmarshes to the vast acres that once surrounded our estuaries, before the Act of Enclosure and the Industrial Revolution! Realistically, Scotland’s natural coastal defences (saltmarshes and dunes) protect over £13bn of land assets, so I content myself with restoring fragmented and degraded saltmarshes wherever its possible.
“Green Shores became a journey, and one I’ve been fortunate to share with coastal landowners, university staff and hundreds (if not thousands) of local volunteers, students and school pupils, without whom this vital work is not possible. I look forward to continuing this journey and achieving an even wider network of involved communities and expanding saltmarshes.
“I enrolled in St Andrews as an undergraduate in Biology in 1995, and it was during my honours project that I discovered a passion for saltmarsh restoration. I rolled onto a PhD, and my original trial plots, planted in 1999 in the Eden Estuary, had thrived and came to the attention of the Links Trust. This led to the first fully funded Green Shores project and 25 years later, the work has gone from strength to strength.
“I started out as a nurse at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and during my training I discovered that my real passion was biology, so I moved into conservation and a biology degree, funding the transition with part-time agency nursing. Being a working-class woman in STEM has meant that my path was not typical, but it has given me a unique perspective and a well of knowledge to draw upon, which has come in useful many times throughout my career.
“St Andrews and the surrounding area is hugely diverse, filled with academics, tourists and golfers from all over the world. There is a military station at Leuchars, prime farmland, and a rejuvenated Dundee across the Tay, all within easy reach of the Highlands or the Central Belt.
“Local communities reflect this diversity, and we mingle with international students, locals and visitors. The mix of cultures and backgrounds brought together on a muddy, wind-swept estuary is a joy, united by a desire to tackle climate change and slow down what often feels like relentless biodiversity loss, in this wee corner of Fife.”
Find out more about Green Shores and how to become a volunteer.
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