DOVER – Almost one thousand hardy volunteers who turned out in the face of cold and snow for DNREC’s 27th Annual Beach Grass Planting March 19 enabled the planting this year of more than five miles of Delaware shoreline with Cape American beachgrass that helps protect and preserve the state’s dune system, the Division of Watershed Stewardship announced today.

American Cape beachgrass planting at a DNREC Annual Beach Grass Planting event on the Delaware coast“We had close to 1,000 volunteers who braved the cold northeast winds and came out to help,” said event coordinator Jennifer Luoma, DNREC Shoreline & Waterway Management Section. “An amazing turnout given the elements, and a great measure of the volunteer spirit – all to help preserve and make our shoreline more resilient for what the state faces with extreme weather events.”

She noted that volunteers planted in South Bethany, Bethany Beach, Delaware Seashore State Park, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Cape Henlopen, Slaughter Beach and Bowers Beach – and “some residents in North Fenwick also planted on State Park land in front of their homes.”

A great percentage of the 150,000 2-stem Cape American beachgrass plugs available for volunteers this year were planted Saturday. The work continued with the better weather this week – “Since Saturday,” Ms. Luoma said, “a probation violator work crew, conservation technicians with the Shoreline and Waterway Management Section and the AmeriCorps NCCC Falcon 5 team all have been planting the remaining grass in South Bethany.”

Their efforts along with volunteers’ perseverance March 19 has brought the total grass planted since the inception of the beach grass event in 1990 to almost 5.2 million stems of Cape American beachgrass planted and helping to stabilize Delaware’s sand dunes along both the state’s ocean and bay beaches.

“The beach grass planting is among the state’s premier volunteer efforts – through good weather and bad, year after year, these dedicated volunteers turn out to put Delaware in a better place for adaptation and resiliency against sea level rise,” said DNREC Secretary David Small. “It’s an event of greater importance than getting plugs of beach grass in the ground to grace our beaches and dunes – and we’re thankful for the volunteers who acknowledge that importance in turning out for DNREC’s annual beach planting.”

Beach grass helps to build and stabilize dunes by trapping windblown sand. As the grass traps sand, it helps build the dunes higher and wider, which makes a dune more protective of the structures behind it. The Shoreline & Waterway Management Section also advises that beach grass has thick brittle stalks that can be easily broken and killed by pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The section also notes that recently-planted grasses, as went into the dunes during this year’s DNREC beach grass planting event, are very vulnerable to pedestrian traffic until dune fencing is installed.

Beach grass planting coordinator Ms. Luoma also expressed gratitude for sponsorship from Pepsi Co and Giant Foods in Ocean View for supplying beverages to volunteers; the Delaware Mobile Surf-Fishermen, Inc. for providing transportation on the beach along with refreshments; the Towns of Dewey Beach and Bowers Beach for providing restrooms, and Delaware State Parks for waiving fees for volunteers participating in the event.

Media Contact: Melanie Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 97

Beach grass will help stabilize dunes hit hard by recent coastal storm; register by March 11

DOVER – DNREC is seeking volunteers for Delaware’s annual beach grass planting event set for 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 19 at beach locations along the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The event, now in its 27th year, helps protect Delaware shorelines by planting Cape American beach grass on sand dunes damaged by coastal storms.

Last year approximately 1,000 environmental enthusiasts, families and students planted 110,000 stems of beach grass along over 3 miles of coastline between Kitts Hummock Beach and Fenwick Island.

According to Jennifer Luoma, environmental scientist with DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section and coordinator of the event, volunteers are especially needed this year. “Delaware’s coastline was ravaged by the January storm that weakened, and in some areas destroyed dunes and eroded sand from our beaches. The dunes were hit especially hard, and hundreds of volunteers are needed to help stabilize dunes that have been repaired after the coastal storm.”

Volunteers are encouraged to sign up by March 11, 2016 either online at http://de.gov/beachgrass or by email to Jennifer.Luoma@delaware.gov. For more information, call 302-739-9921.

Sand dunes are essential for protection against damaging coastal storms. When sand dunes are destroyed, storm waves can rush inland, flood properties and put lives at risk. Stabilized dunes absorb wave energy and act as major sand storage areas, which replenish sand to eroded beaches during a storm.

Beach grass helps to build and stabilize dunes by trapping windblown sand. As the grass traps the sand, it builds the dunes higher and wider, which makes dunes more protective of the structures behind them. Since the program was introduced in 1989, more than 5 million stems of beach grass have been planted by dedicated volunteers.

DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section coordinates the annual beach grass planting event. The section also implements beach replenishment and erosion control projects along Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay communities to enhance, preserve and protect private and public beaches.

Media Contact: Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 54

LEWES (April 18, 2013) – A coastal grass planting effort capitalizing on Department of Correction’s VOP (violation of probation) laborers and privately-donated resources will help DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship bolster the north side of the Indian River Inlet against lost or displaced sand from future weather events. 

A Sussex County farmer, William Wolter, Jr., donated several truckloads of established panic grass through DNREC’s Office of Community Services, and DOC Sussex Community Correction Center VOP laborers overseen by DNREC’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section planted it at the Inlet earlier this month. The VOP laborers also loaded the grass from Mr. Wolter’s Owens Station farm and hunting preserve near Greenwood and transported it to the planting site.

Panic grass is prime vegetation for stabilizing dunes and has widespread use for coastal dune erosion control. Panic grass roots can grow six feet deep and its thick fibrous root system forms a barrier against erosion. As each plug of panic grass was planted on the west side of the dune at Indian River, it was supplemented with fertilizer donated by Perdue AgriRecycle LLC that helped establish the grass along the dune.

Perdue offered a ton of its microSTART60 Plus 7-2-2 fertilizer to the Shoreline & Waterway Management Section to get the panic grass growing as a windbreak and stabilizer along the inlet’s often-shifting sands. VOP laborers gave each plant hole a dose of granular fertilizer, then sprinkled additional fertilizer over it once the grass was planted.

The collaborative venture between Mr. Wolter, who grows panic grass for covering duck blinds, Dept. of Correction’s VOP program, and Perdue drew praise from the DNREC program manager who oversaw the planting. “A genuine example of citizens, the State and private industry working together to do something positive for the environment and help stabilize the sand north of the Inlet,” said Maria Sadler, DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship environmental program manager for field operations.

Ms. Sadler noted that Dept. of Correction’s VOP program also helps with DNREC’s annual beach-grass planting along Delaware’s coastal beaches, an annual event which has planted more than 5 million stems of American beach grass over the last 24 years since it began in 1990.

Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 43, No. 155

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SUSSEX COUNTY – More volunteers are needed at two sites – South Bethany Beach and Delaware Seashore State Park – for Delaware’s annual beach grass planting set for 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, March 23.

With online registration now closed, volunteers are urged to call DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section at 302-739-9921 or email Jennifer.Luoma@delaware.gov to sign up. More information on the planting event can be found on DNREC’s website at Beach Grass Planting 2013.

According to Jennifer Luoma, environmental scientist and coordinator of the event, other sites have enough volunteers signed up but more are needed in South Bethany and Delaware Seashore State Park, north of the Indian River Inlet.

“We are planting a large area of dunes in South Bethany and in Delaware Seashore State Parkand could really use more volunteers,” said Luoma. “Dunes in these areas were rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy, and beach grass is needed to help stabilize the dunes and make them more protective during a coastal storm.”

The event, now in its 24th year, helps protect Delaware shorelines by planting Cape American beach grass on sand dunes at beaches along the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Last year approximately 800 environmental enthusiasts, families and students planted more than 150,000 stems of beach grass along four miles of coastline between Delaware Seashore State Park and Kitts Hummock Beach.

Sand dunes are essential for protection against damaging coastal storms. When sand dunes are destroyed, storm waves can rush inland, flood properties and put lives at risk. Stabilized dunes absorb wave energy and act as major sand storage areas, which replenish sand to eroded beaches during a storm.

Beach grass helps to build and stabilize dunes by trapping windblown sand. As the grass traps the sand, it builds the dunes higher and wider, which makes dunes more protective of the structures behind them. Since the program was introduced in 1989, more than 5 million stems of beach grass have been planted by dedicated volunteers.

DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section coordinates the annual beach grass planting event. The section also implements beach replenishment and erosion control projects along Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay communities to enhance, preserve and protect private and public beaches.

Contact: Melanie Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 43, No. 101