Can Coney Island's Dunes Hold Back Another Sandy?

Volunteers restore coastal dunes along Coney Island, an area still affected by Hurricane Sandy. The work involves planting hardy beach grass in damp sand to rebuild the dune barrier between the beach and nearby homes. The effort is part of a National Wildlife Federation initiative focused on protecting Coney Island, where many residents live in low-income, high flood risk census districts. Students and repeat volunteers participate in multiple planting days, with the program expanding from six days to nine and drawing hundreds of volunteers from many schools. Participants describe the physical act of planting as a way to see their actions as meaningful and collective. Coastal dune restoration functions as a nature-based solution that can reduce coastal flooding and erosion.

"Along a stretch of coastline still marked by Hurricane Sandy, volunteers gather in rain or shine to restore the coastal dunes that separate the beach from the last line of houses. It's part of a push by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to protect Coney Island, which has one of the highest concentrations of low - income, high flood risk census districts in the city. The long-term effectiveness of projects like this, however, depends on far more than volunteer labor alone."

"At the end of the road, a small group of people knelt amid the dunes, separating shoots of hardy beach grass and burying them a few inches deep in the damp sand. Khadesha Stephenson was one of the handful of students who made it out despite the drizzle, seeking something tangible in the physical act of planting. Now a freshman at CUNY Hunter College, she says that day last April strengthened her resolve and is one reason she is back for a new planting season."

"The project has expanded from six planting days last year to nine this year, drawing 670 volunteers, including students from 23 schools. Repeat volunteers like Stephenson are at the heart of the project. "I used to think that no matter what I did in my personal life to be low waste, my impact on the environment was just a blip in the system," she says. "But planting in those conditions that day changed the scope of how I think of my, and other people's, actions in the world... We are not a blip, but a collective, a community of people who are willing to sacrifice comfort for the betterment of the world. It's helped me realize our actions matter.""

Read at State of the Planet