Living Shoreline Community Assistance Program

An oyster-based living shoreline implementation program repairs and protects eroded waterfront in underserved communities along the South Carolina coast.

After receiving grant funding through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Transformational Habitat and Coastal Resilience grant program, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) led efforts to increase the scale and accessibility of living shorelines and nature-based solutions across the Lowcountry. Through this program, TNC offered underserved private landowners and communities in coastal South Carolina the opportunity to apply to implement living shoreline projects to protect their land from erosion.

Biohabitats and partners Weston & Sampson provided TNC with engineering, design, and permitting assistance for priority living shoreline projects. Nearly 100 applications were reviewed using a rubric created by Biohabitats and TNC. Biohabitats performed site visits and completed environmental assessments at selected properties, which allowed the team to move forward with the design of living shorelines at several at-risk sites, using nature-based solutions to strengthen ecologically significant coastal land.

TAGS

• Analysis+Planning
• Design
• Climate Adaptation + Resilience
• Ecological Restoration