California Sea Grant College Program

The California Dune Science Network (Network) is a collaborative effort to expand understanding of coastal dunes and their role in building a resilient, transitional, and adaptive coast for future generations. In 2021, the Network documented at least nineteen sites in California where coastal dunes were in planning stages or had already been restored or constructed to increase resilience. The Network acknowledges that this list may be incomplete and welcomes suggestions for additional dune sites and resources. In an effort to foster knowledge-sharing across these sites and disseminate information and lessons learned, the Network hosted a virtual Coastal Dunes for Resilience Workshop on December 8th and 9th, 2021. The workshop featured recent dune research, information about nature-based dune and resilience projects, and collaborative learning opportunities at California's pilot project and natural dune sites. It also engaged diverse perspectives on coastal resource stewardship, public access, and culturally inclusive climate adaptation approaches and how these play a role in the success of coastal dune resilience efforts. The workshop also provided an avenue for exploring the appetite for scientific knowledge and collaboration for advancing dune resilience best practices in California. Participation demonstrated that there was significant interest in this topic. Attendees included 144 participants who engaged in the workshop across the two days, and they represented a wide range of expertise including scientists, coastal managers, planners, engineers, educators, policy experts, students, and interested members of the public (see Appendix I). Many of these participants expressed a strong desire for additional learning and discussion sessions on project planning, permitting and designing, implementation, and monitoring practices. The following is a summary of the four major themes that arose from the Coastal Dunes for Resilience Workshop. This synthesis is intended to provide ideas for maximizing pilot projects going forward and for establishing best practices for effective implementation of coastal resilience strategies along our coastlines.