Thriving habitat growing on restored Living Shoreline 2 years after planting.
Eroded shoreline on the Miles River in Talbot County before restoration. Note white house with red roof in both before and after pictures.
Environmental Concern is Restoring the Bay – one shoreline at a time.
The term Living Shoreline is commonly used to describe the vegetative approach to restoring eroding shorelines. When properly implemented, this practice will improve water quality, enhance habitat, sequester carbon and stabilize the eroding shoreline.
Environmental Concern (EC) developed the design protocol for the Living Shoreline in the early ’70s. Since that time, the scientists and engineers at EC have refined the Living Shoreline design to manage more erosive conditions associated with sea-level rise and the increased frequency and severity of storm tides. Environmental Concern is a one-stop shop. EC will survey, design, permit, construct, plant, maintain and monitor your Living Shoreline. Critical to the success of the Living Shoreline is the quality of the vegetation. All of the plantings used in the Living Shoreline are grown from seed in EC’s nursery.
EC’s native plant nursery was the first of its kind in the nation. In addition to the wetland plants used in the Living Shoreline, EC’s 7.5-acre nursery serves homeowners’ needs. “People are more informed about the importance of providing habitat for threatened and endangered species,” stated John Sandkuhler, EC Nursery Manager. Gardens are places to plant and play, to find peace and tranquility, and to enjoy life. During the pandemic, backyard gardening became a new activity for some and a reason to expand an existing garden for others. Anne Sindermann, EC’s Nursery Sales Coordinator, suggests, “… select the Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed), the host plant for the Monarch butterfly, for its beautiful pink flowers that bloom during the summer; or the Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed), an herbaceous pond plant with tall spikes of lavender-blue flowers, blooming from summer through fall. The flowers attract many species of colorful dragonflies.”
Join the EC based Eastern Shore Seed Stewards, and share native plant seeds with a neighborhood group, and with EC. The nursery staff will help you select species that invite songbirds, butterflies and bees, to your garden, and provide a bounty of seeds to collect in the fall. Visit EC’s website for additional resources and native plant availability.
Mission: EC is dedicated to improving water quality and creating, restoring, and conserving wetlands, living shorelines, and other natural habitats. This is accomplished through education and outreach, propagation of native species, and professional design and installation.
Since 1972, EC has propagated, grown and planted over 30 million native plants on shorelines and landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and restored over 1.6 million sq. ft. of eroded shorelines.
Environmental Concern is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation located in St. Michaels, MD.
