Seagrass meadows deliver planetary and human well-being across their near global range, contributing significantly to multiple targets within all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. While previously dismissed as the 'ugly duckling' of the marine conservation world, there is beauty in these underwater meadows that sustain millions of people globally. Almost everywhere there are seagrass meadows, we find people that depend on them for food, subsistence, recreation, or cultural fulfilment. This presentation explores the critical nature of the relationship between seagrass and people and contextualises the planetary role of seagrass systems. Seagrass is framed as a critical piece in the complex puzzle of planetary recovery because it’s only as a connected, collaborative society that will we be able to rise to the global challenges facing seagrass and marine systems more broadly.