Living Shoreline

Living Shorelines Workshops at the Baliles Center

Longwood University’s Baliles Center in conjunction with the Center for Coastal Resources Management (part of the Virginia Institute for Marine Science [VIMS]) presented two Living Shorelines workshops on the Hull Springs property in Westmoreland County, VA.

Workshops were for Shoreline Project Designers and Contractors and property owners, Wetland Board Members, local government employees and everyone interested in our shorelines.

The presentations made by Karen Duhring, Marine Advisory Scientist, VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management, can be found here:

• Workshop for Designers & Contractors, Part 1 (PDF)
• Workshop for Designers & Contractors, Part 2 (PDF)
• Workshop for Designers & Contractors, Part 3 (PDF)
• Workshop for Property Owners, Wetland Boards, etc., Part 1 (PDF)
• Workshop for Property Owners, Wetland Boards, etc., Part 2 (PDF)

Workshops Explored

• "Living Shoreline Treatments," a shoreline management practice that addresses erosion by providing for long-term protection, restoration or enhancement of vegetated shoreline habitats.
• Exciting, natural "wildlife-friendly" alternatives to shoreline structures (such as sea walls, etc.)
• The interactions between upland riparian zones, wetlands and the aquatic system – three areas that are functionally integrated and tend to be impacted by shoreline projects.
• The strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill and other structural and organic materials that provide shoreline erosion protection that enhance natural processes & connections between riparian, intertidal and aquatic areas.
• How tidal exchange, sediment movement, plant community transitions & groundwater flow are all related.
• How property owners, Wetland Boards, shoreline project designers and contractors can all be part of the solution to enhancing the Chesapeake Bay’s health.

These workshops were made possible thanks to funding from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund. Please consider buying a Chesapeake Bay license plate to support this fund.

Volunteer Opportunities

To learn about future volunteer events at the Baliles Center, or to visit the Living Shorelines project at the Baliles Center, please email
Sherry Swinson, Baliles Center Executive Director, at swinsonsd@longwood.edu or call (434) 395-4987.