A Louisiana living shoreline site originated through the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana with Darrah Fox Bach, CRCL’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program manager in New Orleans, deploying shells at the site /Submitted photo

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) and living shorelines along the coast of Louisiana are the topic of a free webinar at 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 12, presented by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee. Registration for the webinar and more information is posted on the DNREC events and meetings calendar at de.gov/DNRECmeetings.

The webinar speaker is Darrah Fox Bach, CRCL’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program manager in New Orleans, La. Bach will provide an overview of the non-profit CRCL and the organization’s work on shorelines across the Gulf coast state over the past 35 years. The presentation will showcase on-the-ground habitat restoration projects, advocacy and education in which CRCL engages.

Ms. Bach will highlight a wide range of partners sharing in a vision and commitment to the sustainability of coastal Louisiana. She also will detail the organization’s two volunteer-based restoration programs: the Oyster Shell Recycling Program, which offers a recycling service to New Orleans area restaurants and builds recycled oyster shell living shoreline restoration projects; and the Native Plants Program, which grows native plants from seed and uses them to restore habitat along the Louisiana coast. In addition, the webinar will cover the use of oyster shells and native plants in constructing enduring, adaptive living shorelines that accumulate materials across rectangular platforms to provide habitat and protect critical ecosystems.

This webinar is part of an ongoing virtual series offered by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, a work group dedicated to facilitating the understanding, peer review and implementation of living shoreline strategy within the First State. The DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program represents the Department in supporting the committee and its work.

More information can be found at delawarelivingshorelines.org.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

###

Joe Rieger, deputy director of restoration for The Elizabeth River Project in Norfolk, Va. will present a webinar about the use of living shorelines in urban Virginia. Submitted photo

The Elizabeth River Project and living shorelines in urban Virginia is the topic of a free webinar to be presented at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 26, by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee.

The webinar speaker is Joe Rieger, deputy director of restoration for The Elizabeth River Project in Norfolk, Va. Rieger will provide an overview of the project, and of the non-profit organization’s work in southeastern Virginia over the past 30 years. His presentation will showcase the significant water quality improvements and achieved oyster restoration goals in two tributaries in the surrounding area.

He will also tell how the organization pioneered the first living shoreline cost-share program for homeowners in the United States and carried out the country’s first community lead cleanup of contaminated river bottom. Part of his presentation will go into detail about the River Star Homes Program, a program that offers homeowners matching funds for completing projects, while offering them a turnkey process for project delivery via The Elizabeth River Project’s staff.

The presentation will highlight how The Elizabeth River Project designs oyster habitat into living shoreline projects to improve marsh habitat which can help to reduce overall project cost. The webinar will cover lessons learned, successes, innovative designs, and adaptive management strategies used at over 30 living shorelines completed on private homeowners’ properties.

The webinar is part of an ongoing virtual series offered by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, a work group dedicated to facilitating the understanding, peer review and implementation of living shoreline strategy within the state. DNREC’s participation is represented by the DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment program.

For more information, visit the Delaware Living Shorelines website. Registration for the webinar and more information about it are also available on the DNREC events and meetings calendar at de.gov/DNRECmeetings.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

###

An aerial photo of the living shoreline at Gandy’s Beach, N.J., on the Delaware Bay. The project was a partnership between The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Gandy’s Beach Project and living shorelines in New Jersey are to be featured in a free webinar presented at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee.

Webinar speakers are Adrianna Zito-Livingston, Coastal Projects Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in New Jersey, and Danielle McCulloch, a Coastal Program Biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Zito-Livingston will provide an overview of the Gandy’s Beach living shoreline project in Lawrence, N.J., located on the Delaware Bay. The presentation will showcase challenges and opportunities over the course of the seven-year project. The speaker will also delve into the dynamic site conditions at Gandy’s Beach, and how they impacted and influenced project construction, adaptive management, and monitoring efforts.

McCulloch will give an overview of preliminary monitoring results, lessons learned and the applicability of the Gandy’s Beach project for policy and future implementation of nature-based solutions. Both presentations will highlight the TNC and USFWS partnership, including long-term monitoring efforts that have shifted local policy, informed other nature-based shoreline protection projects, and advanced coastal resilience in the area.

The webinar is part of an ongoing virtual series offered by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, a work group dedicated to facilitating the understanding, peer review and implementation of living shoreline strategy within the state. DNREC’s participation is represented by the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment program within the Division of Watershed Stewardship.

For more information, visit DelawareLivingShorelines.org. Registration for the webinar and more information about it can be found at de.gov/DNRECmeetings.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

###

A living shoreline installed by the Galveston Bay Foundation near the Port of Houston.

The Galveston Bay Foundation and managing living shorelines in a Texas estuary are the topic of a free webinar at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, presented by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee. The webinar speaker is Hallie Leija, habitat restoration manager for the Galveston Bay Foundation.

Leija will provide an overview of living shoreline projects in Galveston Bay, the largest estuary in Texas. The presentation will showcase how the wetlands and coastal areas in Galveston Bay have experienced a multitude of impacts from subsidence, hurricanes, and floods. The webinar will also highlight shoreline challenges associated with the shipping industry at the Port of Houston, one of the country’s largest ports. The webinar presenter will focus on how the Galveston Bay Foundation works with local partners and private landowners to install natural erosion control systems while also restoring important coastal habitat. Additionally, the lecture will review protection and restoration projects in intertidal marshes and shorelines.

The webinar is part of an ongoing virtual series offered by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, a workgroup dedicated to facilitating the understanding, peer review and implementation of living shoreline strategy within the state. DNREC’s participation is represented by the DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment program and the DNREC Coastal Training program.

For more information, visit DelawareLivingShorelines.org. Registration for the webinar can be found at de.gov/DNRECmeetings.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

Rachel Felver, Communications Director of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

A social marketing strategy to improve shoreline management is the topic of a free webinar at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 16, presented by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee.

The webinar speaker is Rachel Felver, the communications director of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, who will provide an overview of the strategy involving a community-based social marketing campaign.

Felver’s presentation will showcase how the campaign influences environmentally sensitive actions in relation to shoreline management, specifically with living shorelines. The webinar will highlight how shoreline degradation has a direct and negative impact on water quality, while natural shoreline protection provides more resilience against climate change. The webinar presenter will focus on the materials, preparation and outcomes of the Chesapeake Bay specific marketing strategy. Additionally, the lecture will review the project findings, share the toolkits created, and ask for assistance in helping identify the best methods to put this information into the hands of those who could use it.

The webinar is part of an ongoing virtual series offered by the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee, a work group dedicated to facilitating the understanding, peer review and implementation of living shoreline strategy within the state. DNREC’s participation is represented by the DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment program and the DNREC Coastal Training program.

For more information, visit Delaware Living Shorelines. Registration for the webinar and more information about it are also available on the DNREC events and meetings calendar at de.gov/DNRECmeetings.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov