The Network for Engineering With Nature® (N-EWN®) invites you to the “N-EWN Knowledge Series: A Continuing Education Series about Engineering with Nature—Nature-Based Coastal Resilience at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island: From Concept to Long-Term Monitoring,” presented by Dr. Matt Bilskie, associate professor, University of Georgia College of Engineering. This one-hour Zoom webinar will take place Thursday, Oct. 15, at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (MCRD-PI), South Carolina, is exposed to coastal flooding, sea-level change, shoreline erosion and associated land loss. These hazards affect installation infrastructure, training areas, natural resources and long-term mission readiness. This webinar will highlight ongoing efforts at MCRD-PI to move nature-based solutions (NBS) from coastal vulnerability assessment and conceptual planning toward design, construction and long-term monitoring. The project combines field observations, coastal modeling, engineering
and ecological design to better understand coastal hazards and identify where NBS can provide meaningful benefits to the installation.
Two projects will be highlighted. The first includes approximately 2,000 feet of living shoreline along the Broad River designed to reduce erosion and improve shoreline resilience. The second is an approximately three-acre beneficial-use marsh enhancement adjacent to Malecon Drive, a critical installation access corridor, where dredged material will be used to enhance the existing marsh and improve resilience to erosion, flooding and future sea-level change.
The presentation will focus on how these projects have progressed from identifying the problem and evaluating alternatives through engineering design, permitting and implementation. We will also discuss the development of a long-term monitoring approach to evaluate project performance and inform future management and design decisions. Lessons learned at Parris Island can help inform similar efforts to plan, implement and monitor nature-based coastal resilience projects at other DoD installations and coastal communities.
