UNCW and Oak Island Launch Coastal Resiliency Partnership

The UNCW College of Science and Engineering is excited to announce a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Town of Oak Island. The partnership establishes a three-year project to study the use of living shorelines to mitigate erosion in May Moore Park and Veteran’s Park. 

The study will assess various shoreline protection techniques to identify the most effective approaches for safeguarding and rehabilitating the town’s marshlands. Among the methods under evaluation are oyster shell bags, open reef structures, sills and sediment traps.

Over the course of three-year project, UNCW students and researchers from the UNCW Benthic Ecology Laboratory will assess potential shoreline protection strategies, gather data to track the performance of these strategies, and conclude by offering recommendations to the town on the most effective approaches to consider implementing.

The project provides hands-on learning opportunities for UNCW students across scientific disciplines while making a positive impact in the local community.

“This partnership exemplifies how science and community collaboration can drive innovative solutions for coastal resiliency while providing invaluable hands-on experience for our students,” said Dr. Ron Vetter, founding dean of the UNCW College of Science and Engineering.