about the Living Shoreline Collaborative

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The Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) is a group of regional and state partners working together to scale up implementation of resilient practices along shorelines in the tidal James River watershed. 

vision statement

The Living Shoreline Collaborative builds healthy, connected, and abundant living shorelines through practitioner, local government, and community partnerships to increase resilience.

mission statement

The mission of the Living Shoreline Collaborative is to provide access to best practices, information and data to ensure thriving living shorelines through education, outreach, monitoring, training and implementation with a network of partners and communities in the James Watershed.

Metric for success

The LSC is working together toward Virginia's Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) , which calls for 79,446 linear feet (15.05 miles) of living shorelines for the James River Basin by 2025. According to the Shoreline Erosion Advisory Service, an office of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR-SEAS), 48,735 linear feet have been reported by 2020, putting the James at 61% towards this goal.

Goals

  1. Build and share knowledge about project performance to learn what best practices have greatest success for shoreline stabilization and water quality protection. 
  2. Increase capacity of all collaborative partners and practitioners to implement living shorelines through a community of practice with consistent training, mentoring and shared resources.
  3. Build relationships, increase awareness, and identify and respond to community concerns where shoreline protection, resilience and sea level rise adaptation needs are greatest, particularly in high-risk areas.
  4. Elevate acceptance and implementation of living shorelines among citizens, local governments and shoreline professionals through increasing outreach, awareness, and filling funding gaps.
  5. ​Increase collaboration and strengthen partnerships through developing an effective network of Living Shoreline Collaborative members.

Focus Areas

The Living Shoreline Collaborative has identified three focus areas: monitoring, training, and implementation and outreach.
  1. The Monitoring Team envisions a collaborative monitoring community of practice working with an interdisciplinary strategy to reveal common characteristics and best practices shared by well-performing projects as well as what under-performing or declining projects have in common. We aim to expand opportunities to participate in monitoring to support more successful implementation and training. Monitoring Team point of contact: Karen Duhring, VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management. Email: karend@vims.edu
  2. The Training Team aims to develop standardized materials and a training process to establish a cost-effective means of engaging and consistently training and upskilling living shoreline practitioners  throughout Virginia and eventually other Bay states. We hope this will grow this network of skilled practitioners to support LSC partner programs and project implementation, connect clients with trusted service providers, and improve capacity of existing shoreline businesses to implement more living shorelines. Training Team point of contact: Shereen Hughes, Wetlands Watch and Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals. Email: shereen.hughes@wetlandswatch.org
  3. The Implementation and Outreach Team team aims to increase the installation of resilient living shoreline projects in the tidal James River watershed with a focus on community outreach, partner coordination, and project sustainability. Implementation and Outreach Team point of contact: Emily Hinson, James River Association. Email: ehinson@thejamesriver.org and Ryan Walsh, James River Association. Email: rwalsh@thejamesriver.org. 
  4. The Planning Team focuses on increasing collaboration and strengthening partnerships through developing an effective network of Living Shoreline Collaborative members. Planning Team Point of Contact: Emily Hinson, James River Association. Email: ehinson@thejamesriver.org   

activities

The Living Shoreline Collaborative holds in-person and virtual events throughout the year, such as:
  • Living Shoreline Annual Summit
  • Workshops for shoreline professionals
  • Field visits to living shoreline projects
  • Installation of three living shoreline demonstration projects in Isle of Wight and Prince George counties
  • Installation of a floodplain restoration project in Hampton, VA
  • Continuing education workshops for Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Program
  • Quarterly meetings highlighting relevant issues and experienced shoreline practitioners 
  • Monthly steering committee meetings
Check here for registration details on upcoming events.
Photo credit: Elizabeth River Project
Learn More About the LSC
How to Be Involved: describes the different ways you can be involved with the Collaborative.
LSC Action Plan: an outline of the goals, action strategies, and implementation plan for actualizing the Collaborative's priorities.
Sign up to receive the Living Shoreline Collaborative Newsletter to stay up to date on LSC events, meetings, and resources!

Join the local conversation about living shorelines through the Living Shoreline VA listserv. Contact Kati Grigsby to join the list.
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