California Sea Grant College Program

In 2016, a series of workshops were held to discuss living shorelines in Southern

California. The workshops specifically focused on the unique benefits, challenges and

opportunities for implementing living shorelines in the region, and the nexus between

nature-based solutions and ongoing local adaptation planning. Approximately 140

participants partook in these dialogues, and some of the key themes that emerged

include:

 Letting nature do the work for you

 Designing for the future

 Integrating nature into shoreline management projects

 Project goals distinguishing living shorelines

 Engineering and urban living shorelines

 Space constraints along urban coastlines

 Permitting pathways to support demonstration projects

 Living shorelines and phased sea level rise planning

 Designing with watersheds and sediment management in mind

 Exploring emerging commercial opportunities

 Public access and project success

 Planning for living shorelines alongside the community

 Sharing monitoring and best practices to ensure future success

 Citizen science and socio-ecological monitoring

The workshops provided the first ever opportunity for Southern California stakeholders

to outline what is unique about designing living shorelines in the context of Southern

California shorelines for state and federal entities.