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

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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

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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

Dr. Joshua Moody, Restoration Programs Manager for the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.

The living shoreline feasibility model as a tool for green infrastructure design is the topic of a free webinar at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 19, presented by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Delaware Living Shorelines Committee.

The webinar speaker is Dr. Joshua Moody, Restoration Programs manager for the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. Moody will provide an overview of the living shoreline feasibility model (LSFM) and how the tool evaluates a variety of metrics to assess considerations when installing and maintaining a living shoreline. The presentation will showcase how the LSFM guides users in collecting information on the physical and ecological characteristics of a specific site location, as well as factors related to site access and community resources.

The model provides a relative evaluation of sites and can integrate with baseline data on existing conditions to help inform team building, design and installation planning. The webinar presenter will discuss how the LSFM can be used to assist in the implementation of site selection and inform the various types of expertise required for success. Additionally, the lecture will touch on how the model can help practitioners better understand how to phase a multi-step project.

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.

More information, including registration, can be found at de.gov/livingshorelinewebinar.

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

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