Nature Based Solutions

Seabrookers Hear About Nature-Based Solutions to Combat Sea Level Rise

 On December 5th Lee Bundrick, Senior Ecological Health and Conservation Coordinator for the Kiawah Conservancy, gave an animated presentation to a crowd of 60 Seabrookers at the Lake House on the topic of using nature to address the challenge of sea level rise in coastal communities.  Sponsored by the Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy and the Kiawah Conservancy, the talk featured the findings and potential solutions generated by the extensive research conducted by the Kiawah Conservancy.  Traditional "gray" infrastructure approaches to shoreline protection are often not sustainable and can negatively impact the environment. This has prompted a shift toward exploring innovative, nature-based strategies to strengthen the resilience of our islands' shorelines.

 The result of this research is outlined in the “Nature-Based Solutions Manual for Kiawah Island” published in 2023 and is available at: https://joom.ag/KJ9d.   Green infrastructure practices include the installation of rain gardens, pervious pavement systems, vegetated buffers and Envirolok geotextile bag systems. The Manual also addresses in great detail stabilization techniques for “living” shorelines and marsh edges.  Some of these practices such as using coir logs and wire reefs for oyster beds are being tested now on Kiawah Island.

 A video of the talk is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVK-76FgZKY