Winter Update

This first, unseasonably warm winter for the living shoreline is providing ample opportunities for adaptive management and research. Our project partners, TransCoastal Adaptations, are studying the capacity of the shoreline to buffer against climate change in areas exposed to freeze-thaw winter conditions.

With our temperatures staying mostly above freezing, the ground hasn’t been able to freeze and stay frozen, yet this season. Fluctuating temperatures over the winter can damage soil and plants because it leaves the soil loose and at risk of erosion by wind and rain. This can leave the plants’ roots exposed to cold and harsh conditions.

We are mitigating these challenges by repurposing Christmas trees! We have taken the boughs off some Christmas trees and interlocked them at the base of our vegetated bank shrubs, which provides both stabilization to the soil and protection from winter conditions as an insulating layer of ground cover. We are also using Christmas trees at the base of the vegetated bank to provide further protection to the site from storm surge events at high tide.

We are continuing to monitor the site and will be providing adaptive management as needed. Adaptive management is the process of decision-making based on changing conditions. It is also a normal and expected component of any nature-based infrastructure project and helps to ensure the success of a newly installed project!