Looking back on our conservation trip to Devon this summer marks the beginning of a new Love Brand & Co. initiative, where each year we send members of our team to visit one of our charity partners firsthand. Here, they report back on the issues and positive impacts of Love Brand donations and our mission to save endangered species and wild sanctuaries.
This blog is written by the Love Brand staff who took part in our very first trip, as they journeyed to South Devon to learn more about our brilliant partner, The Cove Discovery Project.
A Trip To Brixham
In September 2025, we packed our bags and headed down to Brixham to meet with our brilliant charity partner, The Cove Discovery Project, to learn more about their conservation efforts and how they’re protecting South Devon’s coastal ecosystems.
Our adventure began at Brixham Harbour, where we met Project Manager Chris Thomas. Devoted to marine conservation as a voluntary Marine Mammal Medic, lifelong ocean champion and co-founder of several conservation projects, there’s no one better to show us the ropes of Brixham’s wild side.
Snoozing Seals Incoming
Our day began with a boat tour of the beautiful Brixham coastline. No sooner had we hopped in than we spotted our first welcome committee, a herd of grey seals flopped across the breakwater, basking in the morning sun. We admired the herd wriggling and snoozing as Chris shared stories about The Cove.
Chris told us how The Cove works with partners like Plymouth University (who have a research hub on the Brixham coast), helping to track and identify seal populations. They log everything from where seals have been spotted to their behaviour to help map the health of the local population.
The Cove also completed research earlier this year investigating how human expansion is impacting seal populations. Chris explained it has resulted in grey seals in urban areas navigating new anthropogenic pressures, which is negatively affecting seal health, breeding and their role as apex predators. It’s a sobering reminder of why The Cove’s work is so important.
A World Below the Waves
After waving goodbye to our furry friends, we then took the boat around to Fishcombe Cove, a magnificent, secluded beach with turquoise waters surrounded by woodlands. It’s here that The Cove concentrates its efforts on protecting seagrass beds.
One of the most underappreciated ecosystems in the world, seagrass stores up to 35x more carbon than tropical rainforests and provides nursing grounds for an abundance of marine life. Chris explained that in the UK, we have sadly already lost over 90% of our seagrass beds, so monitoring and protecting them is more important than ever.
As we glided into Fishcombe Cove, we spotted several bright buoys bobbing on the waves. These aren’t your average markers; they double up as signposts packed with info about the seagrass meadows below and gentle reminders for local boats: no anchoring here, and keep it slow. Thanks to a design by the Wild Planet Trust, the buoys’ ropes are fitted with floats that stop them from dragging along the seabed and causing damage.
It also turned out that we visited at a particularly special time: it was cuttlefish season! These otherworldly creatures are just one of the many species that come to lay their eggs in the seagrass, along with the protected short-snouted seahorse.
Chris explained that The Cove Discovery Project also conduct regular seagrass surveys to keep a close eye on this brilliant ecosystem. These surveys involve placing half-metre squares to assess habitat destruction, grass health, spot which species call it home and even measure how many shoots are growing in each patch. The team also harvests seagrass seeds to cultivate and replant, restoring meadows for future generations of fish, seahorses, and, of course, cuttlefish.
Eventually, it was time to point the bow back toward shore. But not before one last stroll along Brixham’s coastline, soaking in the sea air and taking in the beauty of the coast one last time.
We're incredibly grateful to the Cove Discovery Project for welcoming us aboard, as well as the Devon Environment Foundation and Conservation Collective for making this work possible.
