Living Shorelines
Have your shoreline go from eroding to growing using SANDBAR’s innovative environmentally friendly Oyster Catcher™ sills.
Do you want a shoreline but need financial assistance? The N.C. Coastal Federation cost share program is here to help! Contact us to learn more!
Why SANDBAR’s living shoreline work!
We use our Oyster Catcher™ biodegradable hardscape to create oyster reefs and salt marsh habitat that we combine to form “living shorelines” that provide exceptional erosion control and essential fish habitat.
Every shoreline is unique in the wind, wave and sedimentary influences it experiences. Through the many design possibilities available with our Oyster Catcher™ substrate, location specific combinations of open reef frameworks, sills and sediment traps can be installed to work in harmony with the natural processes of the area. These custom installments not only reduce wave energy on the shoreline, but work with natural tides and currents to reaccumulate sediment and reestablish native marsh grasses. In areas with indigenous oysters, the high surface area and chemical composition of the Oyster Catcher substrate promotes oyster reef growth. Instead of conceding the land lost to erosion with an installment of hard stabilization, living shorelines can promote regrowth of lost sediments and grasses while maintaining the natural ecology of the local ecosystem.
Living Shoreline Examples
Living shoreline at the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium, NC
Living shoreline at the Rachel Carson National Estuarine Research Reserve, Beaufort, NC.
Living shoreline at Sugarloaf Island, Morehead City, NC.
Homeowner living shoreline, Morehead City, NC.
Living shoreline at Wachapreague, VA.
Photo credit: Bo Lusk TNC Virginia