The importance of SeaGrass restoration is not known to many people, especially those in coastal communities. Like said in our first blog post, it emphasized the importance of SeaGrass and its effects for beach and dune erosion close to the shoreline. But the question is: “How do most go about saving SeaGrass within a coastal community?” In our way to help fight this ecological tragedy, we have begun to spread awareness throughout the beaches of Wilmington, NC to help reinstate ecological balance within the beach and dune locations. By targeting homeowners within the coastal community we are sure to see a major difference. This step has allowed us to advocate for what we believe to be important and spread awareness to those who may know nothing about this topic. This advocacy has pushed us to further our outreach efforts by asking those who are willing to come help out for a more hands on approach.
However, for those who are reading in different locations we understand that many are unable to help us in our set location so for today's post we have come up with ways that you too can help within your local coastal community.
Community Engagement and Education:
The first step in helping with your local coastal community outreach is by acknowledging the problem at hand: coastal erosion and helping spread awareness to this detrimental environmental impact. Raising awareness amongst local communities about the importance of seagrass ecosystems in shoreline stabilization can help engage and educate residents, businesses and stakeholders within coastal communities. These efforts help promote sustainable coastal practices to help reduce human impact on seagrass habitats.
Seagrass Restoration
Seagrass has a huge impact on coastal erosion. Because of their extensive root systems they are able to help stabilize sediments, reduce erosion and even provide a natural barrier for coastal environments by creating a natural barrier against wave action. In order to help impact the ecosystem it's best to get a hands on approach. By restoring or enhancing the already existing seagrass beds along the shoreline, you are one step closer to better protecting against erosion.
Vegetated Dune Systems
Another way to help with a hands on approach would be to create vegetated dune systems. Dunes can act as a natural buffer by absorbing wave energy and protecting the shoreline from erosion. By establishing a vegetated dune system behind the beach, you are incorporating seagrass along with native dune vegetation allowing dunes to continue to do their jobs.
Bioengineering Techniques
Bioengineering techniques have been known to be very effective towards environmental troubles. By implementing such techniques, like planting seagrass in biodegradable erosion-control structures or using natural materials like coconut fiber rolls to help stabilize shorelines while encouraging seagrass growth, we are able to obtain an increase of seagrass growth and protection against erosion.
Monitoring and Adaptive Management
Though this last attempt is less hands on it is still very beneficial to the awareness and protection of our coastal environments. Regularly monitoring seagrass health and shoreline stability with scientific monitoring ensures that the progress of protecting beaches remains strong. Adjusting restoration strategies based on monitoring data allows for the effectiveness of erosion control efforts over time.
By implementing these strategies, it is possible to help harness the natural benefits of seagrass ecosystems to mitigate beach and dune erosion effectively while promoting biodiversity and coastal resilience.
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