Natural Defenses: UF Researchers Use Living Infrastructure To Protect Florida’s Shores

Armed with a $7 million grant from the Army Corp of Engineers, University of Florida researchers are working to bolster shoreline resilience and restore troubled wetlands in St. Augustine through nature-based solutions.  

“The idea of nature-based solutions is to build what we sometimes refer to as green infrastructure, to use living, natural components as the building blocks,” said Andrew Altieri, Ph.D., an assistant professor with the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment and interim director of the Center for Coastal Solutions, also known as CCS. 

Instead of building man-made structures to protect wetlands, for example, restoration crews can move dredged natural sediment otherwise destined for costly disposal to increase wetlands’ size and elevation, restoring their ability to protect shorelines from storm surge, keep pace with sea-level change, filter toxins, store carbon and provide habitats for wildlife.  

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