Mission

Groundswell Coastal Ecology enhances resiliency of coastal ecological resources by pairing science, education, and community with ecosystem restoration practitioners.

Purpose

Groundswell Coastal Ecology works for a more vibrant and ecologically sustainable coastline by helping local communities to become participatory stakeholders in their environment. To do this we identify, prioritize, promote, and implement coastal restoration projects that will increase biodiversity and coastal resiliency while maximizing community outreach. Our projects target degraded coastlines that receive high visitor-ship and are in need of ecological stewardship. We work with stakeholder agencies and community groups to create and execute restoration plans that address ecological problems such as coastal erosion. Our landscape design emphasizes function, resiliency, and aesthetic while embracing elements of art, education, and play. Funding comes from public agencies, foundations, and private donors. We work with local restoration practitioners, native plant growers and coordinate participation of local K-12 schools in the entire restoration process. We guide teachers through hands on inquiry based science curricula where students ask questions on how to best implement and measure the benefits of restoration. Our work fully engages community stakeholders and addresses socio-environmental concerns through sustainable restoration of high value coastal open space.