Living Shorelines Training for Marine Contractors
Meeting The Growing Demand for Living Shorelines
Florida Sea Grant’s Marine Contractor Living Shoreline Training Course prepares coastal workforce to meet the increasing demand for living shorelines.
Living shoreline installed at Blackburn Point in Sarasota County to address erosion issues and restore native vegetation. Credit: Armando Ubeda
Florida Sea Grant offers a 2-day, interactive Living Shorelines Course that trains participants on how to assess dynamic eroding shorelines and provide solutions featuring living shorelines where feasible. The course is designed to make living shorelines a more accessible option for shoreline stabilization.
The course, developed by a multi-institutional team, is intended for marine contractors, landscape architects, property owners and anyone interested in promoting living shorelines.
After the course, participants will be able to:
- Communicate to homeowners the benefits and relative costs of shoreline stabilization options,
- Confidently perform a site assessment, evaluate design options, and navigate the permitting process,
- Implement a living shoreline project with vegetation and/or breakwater materials, and
- Follow up, evaluate, and provide homeowners with maintenance information.
Marine contractors work to install concrete domes that form the basis of an oyster reef. Credit: Larry Beggs, Reef Innovations Inc.
The course includes lecture material, a workbook, videos, group exercises, field trips, and an exam. We currently offer pre-approved CEUs through the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). More information can be found here.
Upcoming Trainings
In 2023-24, Florida Sea Grant will offer at least 12 Living Shoreline Courses throughout Florida, in locations with the greatest need and suitability. Please contact the Living Shoreline Program Assistant at mbaily@ufl.edu for more details and check back often for updates.
Why take the softer approach?
Living shorelines are softer, greener alternatives to stabilize shorelines from erosion, sea level rise, and other damage. They protect, restore, or enhance natural shoreline habitat and maintain coastal processes through the strategic placement of plants, oyster shell, and other structural organic materials. Living shorelines offer many benefits. They:
- Reduce wave energy and storm water flow rates
- Buffer the effects of storms
- Bolster shorelines by trapping sediments and stabilizing coastal land
- Ensure natural sediment movement along shorelines
- Improve water quality by filtering pollutants
- Are resilient to storm damage and sea level rise
- Trap carbon, reducing the effects of climate change
- Create and connect diverse animal habitats
- Provide recreational opportunities for people
- Beautify shorelines
Learn more about Florida’s living shorelines.
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Living Shorelines Training Videos
The following videos are intended for marine contractors and other shoreline restoration practitioners in Florida, however, anyone interested in living shorelines can benefit from their information.
