Big Seaweed Search

First, you'll need a seaweed guide and a recording form. You can download and print these below.

If you'd like a printed version of the identification guide or recording form, you can email the team at seaweeds@nhm.ac.uk including your name, address and the number of guides you would like.

If you need any further assistance to access our resources, please contact us.

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English
Big Seaweed Search guide

Big Seaweed Search recording form

Welsh

Llyfryn Chwiliad Gwymon Mawr

Ffurflen gofnodi

We want you to have fun at the beach, but it's always important to make sure you're staying safe. Check out the safety information in your Big Seaweed guide booklet before you start searching.

Try to start your survey an hour before low tide. This time is best for your safety and for seaweed spotting, too. You can check tide times for your chosen beach at www.tidetimes.co.uk

All shores are important for seaweed research, but you'll find more seaweeds on shores with hard structures like rocks, sea walls and piers, as many species anchor themselves to these.

Select a five metre wide plot that runs from the top of the shore down to the sea - five metres is around five adult paces. You can mark your survey area with a bucket, sticks, or using natural landmarks.

Stand with your back to the sea and take a picture of your survey area. This gives our scientists a good idea of the conditions on the shore where you've carried out your survey.

Walking away from the sea, explore the whole of your five metre wide plot - you might need to get your hands wet! Aim to cover your whole survey area in under an hour.

When you find one of the target seaweeds:

• Tick it off as ‘present’ on your recording form
• Take a clear picture of its identifying features - you need to do this for every species you find
• Record it as band forming, patchy, or sparse - if you later find a larger patch afterwards, update your recording form.

Download our handy guide to taking photos

Remember, only record living species which are attached to the rocks. Ignore any seaweed which is washed up on the beach, as it could have been transported from anywhere around the coast in storms and big waves.

Now, the really important bit! Tell us what you have found. You can even do this on the beach using your phone.

There's a button to upload your pictures so our scientists can confirm what you've spotted. You can upload three images for each seaweed species you found.

The button below will direct you to an external site. For more information on how your data is used, please read the privacy policy on the Big Seaweed Search website.

Report your Big Seaweed Search findings!

Every survey you submit is vitally important. You can take part in the Big Seaweed Search as many times as you like whether it is just once, or a regular commitment ranging from every week, month or year.