Balancing infrastructure resilience, habitat enhancement and public recreation
Project Overview
Situated between the city of Jacksonville, Florida, the mouth of the St. John’s River, and the Atlantic Ocean is the busy harbor of Naval Station Mayport.
NS Mayport is one of the largest U.S. Navy bases in the Southeast. The Base neighbors the historic working waterfront community of Mayport Village, a lesser-known corner of the City of Jacksonville. Helen Cooper Floyd Park–to locals, “Little Jetties”–lies alongside the St. Johns.
Little Jetties is vital to the community and the Naval Station, but it’s in need of repair. Extreme high tides and heavy vehicle use have led to land loss and greatly reduced the buffer of protective vegetation that stabilizes the shoreline and protects Highway A1A.
The University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems is working to develop a recommended shoreline restoration and stabilization design for the park. The effort will seek to balance public access and recreation with protection for the roadway and to integrate natural elements that enhance shoreline resilience and fish habitat. The design process will be informed by the community, including the Mayport Waterfront Partnership, and will deliver the first phase of engineering design and an roadmap for implementation by the end of 2026.
Meet the Team
The steering committee for this project includes partners from the City of Jacksonville, Mayport Waterfront Partnership, Naval Station Mayport, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, and AIA Ocean Islands Trail Scenic Highway.
Ben Carswell
Implementation Specialist, IRIS
bcars@uga.edu
Sydney Williams
Nature-based Solutions Specialist, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant
Matt Bilskie
Associate Professor, College of Engineering
Zak Ruehman
Director of Engineering Services, IRIS
Brock Woodson
Co-Director, IRIS; Professor, College of Engineering
Kate Thornton
Project Manager, UGA Research Institute
Mackenzie Hulse
Coastal Resilience Engineer, IRIS
Jon Calabria
Professor, College of Environment and Design
Georgia Mitchell
Masters Student, IRIS
getting to know little jetties
community survey
A major goal for the project design is that it serves the best interests and priorities of the community. In August 2025, UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government collected survey responses from Mayport Village residents and visitors to the Helen Cooper Floyd Park.
Of 85 respondents:
A mix of Green and Gray
Despite its challenges, Little Jetties presents a lot of opportunity. The input we are receiving from the community, the steering committee, and other coastal experts in Florida, will help us propose solutions to benefit and sustain this special place.
With exposure to powerful currents and ship wakes, protecting Little Jetties may require some hard, or “gray” features. Rock breakwaters and groins are conventional coastal engineering methods. Living shorelines are emerging as an innovative method of stabilization, incorporating natural elements like salt marsh and oyster reefs, or “green” features. A mix of green and grey methods for protecting Little Jetties could strike a balance of strength, dependability, adaptability, resilience, costs to build and maintain, and habitat enhancement for fish and wildlife.
Project Steps
- Community Engagement
- Data & Model Development
- Collaborative Design Development
- Roadmap to Implementation
Additional Resources to Explore
More coming soon!
