Shoreline Restoration

What is shoreline restoration and why is it important?

The James River Association is committed to restoring the shorelines within the tidal Lower James and its many tributaries. This is a dynamic area; storms, wind and tide have long affected the shape of the shoreline and the surrounding habitat.

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What are we doing?

To protect vulnerable areas, the James River Association is employing nature-based “living shorelines” as a method to slow erosion. Using a combination of native grasses, bio-degradable coir logs, and occasionally oyster castles, a stable tidal marsh may be created. This marsh can attenuate wave energy, absorb flood waters, absorb pollutants, and act as a habitat for native animals.

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What can you do?

From the Marsh: Summertime Blooms

Welcome back to the marsh, where the heat of summer is in full swing! The fish are jumping, birds are fledging and learning to fly, and many plants are in bloom. Today, we will be examining a few species of marsh plants that bloom during the hottest time of the year....

From the Marsh: Hammocks

Welcome back to the Marsh! It’s a rainy winter’s day in the marsh and although there is life teeming around us, not much is active at the moment and many organisms are taking it easy until the spring. Today we are going to investigate a hammock out in the marsh. No,...

From the Marsh: Oysters

Welcome back to the marsh!  Today, we are exploring one of the most important organisms that call these places home, oysters! The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is a bivalve in the mollusc phylum. Oysters are one of the most commercially important species in...

From the Marsh: Pickled Sea Bean

Welcome back to the marsh! Today, we will be talking about an interesting plant that inhabits salt marshes and can be eaten. Saltwort, Salicornia virginica, is a flowering, succulent plant in the Amaranth family that can be found along the upper reaches of tidal...