Collaborative Coastal Restoration on Sapelo Island

Project Overview

Sea level rise and other coastal hazards are an increasing problem along the Georgia coast. Water levels have already risen by over a foot in the last 100 years, and they are projected to continue rising, exacerbating issues like “sunny-day” flooding and further exposing communities and ecosystems to damage from severe weather.  

This project aims to restore oyster reefs and salt marshes around the Gullah Geechee community of Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island, GA. This habitat restoration will provide resilience and multiple benefits in the face of probable future climate-related changes.

An improved mechanistic understanding of spatially complex asymmetrical tidal flows over intertidal salt marshes will be incorporated into this understanding of habitat restoration design, and engagement with community stakeholders in habitat restoration design to garner community support and improve the multiple benefits to the community. 

Shell to Shore’s Shell Recycling Coordinator, Malcolm Provost, assessing possible restoration sites in Sapelo Island’s Big Hole Marsh.

Where we are working now

Sapelo Go Country Store and Save Our Legacy Ourself (SOLO) Office experiencing tidal flooding on Sapelo Island.

project site

This project will be conducted in and around Big Hole Marsh on Sapelo Island in the vicinity of the Hogg Hummock Community. The project will use modeling combined with community engaged design to develop a restoration plan for the marsh and then implement the plan using recycled oyster shell.

More potential action items:

  • Thin layer placement, bolstering marshes with added sediment
  • Installation of tide gates to control flooding
  • Removal of dikes, reconnecting marsh fragments
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