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. 
Workshop participants removing goose fencing from an established living shoreline adjacent to the new project. Photo credit: Wetlands Watch.
Upcoming Workshops, Trainings, Meetings, & EventsTo stay up to date with the latest from the Living Shoreline Collaborative, sign up to receive the Living Shoreline Collaborative Newsletter.
Materials from Past Events2025 Annual Living SHoreline shoreline summit
n-person Event: October 9, 2025 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Location: Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA The 2025 Living Shoreline Summit theme was Together for Tomorrow: Catalyzing Coastal Resilience through Living Shorelines. Meeting attendees discussed how collective efforts expand the impact of living shorelines and unlock new possibilities for coastal resilience. The LSC welcomed 90 participants to the Summit! Please see the Summit Program for presenter bios, and for presenter slides and summaries please see our Summit Summary Report Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors of the Living Shoreline Summit!
   LSC Spring General Meeting: A Mosaic Approach to living shoreline Implementation
In-person event - June 11th, 2025
Location: The Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, VA Time: 12:30pm-5:00pm 
The Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) held its second general meeting of the year on June 11, 2025, with speakers highlighting a meeting theme of the Mosaic Approach to Living Shorelines. The event featured presentations from Hampton University Professors Dr. Diedre Gibson, Dr. Joseph Reustle, and Dr. Jeanette Davis, along with Scott Smith and Anna Hammond from the City of Hampton’s Resilience Team, who spoke about a mosaic approach to living shorelines. Following the presentations, attendees participated break out sessions and a variety of field activities, including a volunteering event with Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a shoreline hike, and a boat ride on the James River Association's deadrise, the Longview. A full meeting summary, including presentation slides, can be found here. LSC Winter General Meeting: Co-benefits of living shorelines
In-person event - February 13th, 2025
Location: The Mariner's Museum, Newport News, VA Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm 
The Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) launched its 2025 programming with a successful general meeting, welcoming nearly 90 attendees to the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Virginia. The event featured presentations from Becky Gwynn of the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and Professor Rob Atkinson of Christopher Newport University (CNU), who spoke on the co-benefits of living shorelines and CNU’s Fear to Hope program. Following the presentations, attendees took part in a field visit to Ragged Island Wildlife Management Area, where they explored CNU’s ongoing research projects and learned about an ambitious, over one mile-long living shoreline initiative designed to combat significant erosion. A full meeting summary, including presentation slides, can be found here. 2024 Annual living shoreline summit
In-person event - October 30th, 2024
Location: Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Brock Environmental Center, Virginia Beach, VA Time: 10:00am-4:00pm 
The sixth annual Living Shoreline Summit, hosted by the Living Shoreline Collaborative, was held on Wednesday, October 30th, 2024, at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach. The Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) welcomed over 100 participants to the Summit. The theme of the 2024 Summit was “Innovations in Living Shorelines”. Meeting attendees had a chance to connect with fellow LSC members to consider, discuss, and explore new technologies, approaches, and policies in living shorelines. Please see the Summit Program for presenter bios. Thank you to our presenters, partners, Steering Committee and Planning Team members who helped to make the 2024 Living Shoreline Summit a success. And a very special thank you to Kati Grigsby and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for welcoming the LSC to the Brock Center! View the full summary HERE. LSC General meeting: Implementation funding
In person event - September 24th, 2024
Location - Crittenden, Eclipse, and Hobson Ruritan Club, Suffolk, VA September 24th, 2024 Living Shoreline Collaborative In-Person Meeting: 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm -- General Meeting 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm -- Guided tour of Windsor Castle Park 
The Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) held its second general meeting of the year on September 24, 2024 at the Crittenden, Eclipse & Hobson Ruritan Club in Suffolk, VA. The meeting featured presentations and a panel discussion on living shoreline implementation funding options. Following the general meeting, participants had an opportunity to visit and learn about the living shorelines at Windsor Castle Park in Smithfield, Virginia. A special thank you to Beth Cross and the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance for hosting the event, and to the day’s presenters, Ryan Walsh, James River Association, Robyn Woolsey, Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District, Aaron Wendt, Department of Conservation and Recreation-Shoreline Erosion Advisory Service (DCR-SEAS), Phoebe Murrell, Elizabeth River Project, Beth Cross, Nansemond River Preservation Alliance, and Kati Grigsby, Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Thank you to Ryan Walsh, Henry McBurney, and Ella DiPetto for leading the living shoreline tour at Windsor Castle Park. View the full meeting summary HERE. LSC General meeting: Living Shorelines and Sea level rise May 7th, 2024
In person event - May 7th, 2024
Location - Ryan Resilience Lab, Norfolk, VA 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm -- General Meeting 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm -- Guided tour of Ryan Resilience Lab 
The Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) held its first general meeting of the year on May 7, 2024 at the Elizabeth River Project’s (ERP) Ryan Resilience Lab in Norfolk, VA. The meeting featured presentations on adaptation and sea level rise with the built environment. Participants had an opportunity to tour the building and to connect with fellow LSC members. A special thank you to the Elizabeth River Project for hosting the event, and to the day’s presenters, Barbara Gavin, Elizabeth River Project, Tim Stromberg, Stromberg Garrigan & Associates, Inc., Ian Blair, Wetlands Watch, and Philip Riske, the Hermitage Museum and Garden. A list of meeting participants is located at the end of the document. View the meeting summary here. Living Shoreline Summit 2023
VIRTUAL EVENT - Tues., Oct. 31, 2023
Outdoor Field Visit - Thurs., Nov. 9, 2023 The Living Shoreline Summit provided updates on the Living Shoreline Collaborative, shared living shorelines best practices, supported collaborative partnerships, and deepened skill sets to implement lasting living shorelines in the lower James. Link to 2023 event flier. LSC Meeting: June 13th, 2023
Please join the Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) for an in-person meeting on Tuesday, June 13th. The meeting will focus on developing solutions to implement living shorelines with ease and effectiveness in the lower James watershed, as well as consider solutions and best practices for implementing resilient shorelines. The morning meeting and lunch will take place at the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton, VA, followed by a boat and walking tour of living shorelines along the Hampton River. An agenda and additional details will be shared by email.
June 13th, 2023 Living Shoreline Solutions Forum: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm -- General Meeting 12:00 to 12:30 pm -- Lunch 12:30 to 4:00 pm -- Travel and Afternoon Activities (boat and walking tour of Hampton River shorelines) More information about the Living Shoreline Collaborative may be found at the website: www.jamesrivershorelines.org. LSC Meeting: Living Shoreline Knowledge Sharing - April 11, 2023
The first general meeting of the Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) of 2023 was held on Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 at the Jamestown 4H Educational Center in Williamsburg, Virginia. The meeting’s objective was to share current living shoreline research and provide an opportunity for knowledge sharing among the living shoreline community. CBLP Shorelines certificate course
December 2022 - march 2023 Professional development workshops designed for existing
CBLPs and professionals working along the shoreline who want to add Living Shoreline Services to their business offerings. Complete both workshops and a construction practicum to earn the certificate. Includes webinars, field workshops, and videos presented by experienced professionals. Learn more on the CBLP website: tuesday, november 1st - wednesday november 2nd 2022: living shoreline collaborative summit and field trip (VIRTUAL/in person)
The fourth Living Shoreline Collaborative Summit was held in two parts: there was a virtual component on November 1st and a field component on November 2nd. The Summit focused on creating living shorelines for the future using current best practices and adaptive management in the context of climate change. The field trip featured the shoreline in the Jamestown area with a focus on the adaptive management of existing shoreline structures while also balancing complex priorities of cultural resources, public access, ecological resources, and erosion control.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022: living shoreline monitoring (LSC Meeting, VIRTUAL)
The Living Shoreline Collaborative held a general meeting with a focus on reviewing living shoreline monitoring effort, including who is doing what and how from remote sensing to ground observations. The group also discussed potential for monitoring network improvement. Wednesday, June 8th, 2022: living shoreline OUTREACH AND MESSAGING (LSC Meeting, VIRTUAL)
The Living Shoreline Collaborative held a general meeting on Wednesday, June 8th, 2022, from 1:30 - 3:00pm. The focus of the meeting was on a communication strategy for the Living Shoreline Collaborative. The group was led through facilitated exercises to identify key audiences and messages. Wednesday, March 9th, 2022: living shoreline collaborative training meeting (LSC Meeting, in person)
The Living Shoreline Collaborative held an in-person meeting on Wednesday, March 9th from 1:30 - 3:15pm with an optional tour of a potential living shoreline site from 3:15 - 4:00pm. The meeting was held at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Brock Center in Virginia Beach. The program included a presentation by Karen Duhring of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science focused on Planting Protocols on living shorelines, updates on LSC activities, findings from Training Team activities including shoreline contractor interviews, breakout groups to inform the Training program development, and a field trip to discuss upcoming shoreline management projects and plans at the Pleasure House Point. Wednesday, December 15: Monitoring Living Shorelines in the Lower James (LSC Meeting, virtual)
The Living Shoreline Collaborative held a virtual meeting on Wednesday, December 15th, 2021 with a focus on monitoring living shorelines in the Lower James. FRIDAY, November 12, 2021: URBAN SHORELINE RESTORATIONS: LESSONS LEARNED IN NORFOLK, VA
LSC partners hosted a visit field on November 12th, 2021 which featured urban shoreline restorations in Norfolk. This field visit featured two very different living shoreline sites and learn about what went right (and what didn't!). The tour featured two adjacent residential living shoreline projects, spearheaded by Elizabeth River Project and Bay Environmental as well as two larger living shorelines installed by the City of Norfolk, Bay Environmental, and other contractors located near the Virginia Zoo. Both sites showcased projects completed recently and over six years ago. Participants heard how different shoreline techniques were employed, about what worked well and what did not work well, and what “fixes” were needed to ensure successful projects. The experts who planned, designed, and installed these projects were on site to talk about these issues and outlined what it takes to ensure living shorelines stand the test of (reasonable) time. Featured speakers include representatives from the Elizabeth River Project, the City of Norfolk, Bay Environmental, and the James River Association.
VIRTUAL LIVING SHORELINE SUMMIT: october 13, 2021
The third Living Shoreline Summit of the Living Shoreline Collaborative (LSC) was held on October 13th, 2021 as an online gathering. The Living Shoreline Summit included several informative panel presentations and interactive sessions for participants to network and learn about other exciting initiatives and projects beyond their watershed and Virginia. Panel presentations celebrated partnerships in the lower James River Watershed to implement living shorelines, highlighted approaches and best practices to prioritizing communities in high-risk areas to build equity more intentionally into living shoreline work, and featured living shoreline case studies from other parts of Virginia and beyond. During the Living Shoreline Summit, participants also had the opportunity to engage with presenters and each other through robust question and answer sessions, as well as interactive sessions in small groups where participants networked with each other and shared their own experiences, reflections, and approaches for working with communities in high-risk areas. in person LSC Meeting, Field Visit, and Paddle in Smithfield, VA: SEPTEMBER 15, 2021
Review the meeting summary from the September 15th meeting. Living Shoreline Collaborative Virtual Summit: February 16th, 2021
Living Shoreline Design Workshop: March 4th, 2020
2020 Living Shoreline Summit: State of our Shorelines:
February 20th, 2020 Shoreline & Landscape Professionals Workshop: March 14th, 2019
Online ResourcesThe Living Shoreline Academy, created by Restore America’s Estuaries and North Carolina Coastal Federation, is an online training course that will provide consultants, contractors and other professionals in the field of shore erosion control with basic information on the design and construction of living shorelines.
The Center for Coastal Resources Management, part of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, provides comprehensive information on living shorelines on their website. There are several self-guided decision tools specific to various shoreline conditions. The Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Program (CBLP) is a voluntary credential system for professionals who design, install, and maintain sustainable landscapes. The credential training and examination are based on a core set of standards in sustainable landscaping emphasizing stormwater retrofit best practices and conservation landscaping with native plants to benefit the environment. The CBLP curriculum covers a variety of best practices, including living shorelines. |
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