Coast-R Network Webinar 3
2-3pm, Tue 15 July
 
The third of our Coast-R Network Webinars will see a presentation on “Crafting the Shore” from Dr Suzana Ilic and Dr Serena Pollastri of Lancaster University and an introduction to the MASTS project from St Andrews University.

Coastal Nature Lab

The impacts of climate change on coasts, such as sea level rise and increased storminess, will exacerbate coastal hazards such as flooding, erosion, and seawater intrusion, posing a significant threat to many coastal communities. 

Coastal protection policies and interventions that rely on grey or hard infrastructure (such as sea walls or flood barriers) will become increasingly unsustainable in the long term, as they cannot adapt to future coastal changes and uncertainties associated with climate change predictions without continuous and costly interventions. 

There has been an increased interest in using nature-based solutions for coastal management (e.g. living shoreline barriers, beach nourishment/reprofiling, cliff stabilisation, dune regeneration). While this approach offers many benefits (coastal protection, enhanced biodiversity, benefits to the local economy, community well-being etc.), working with nature requires a more nuanced approach that focuses on the hyper-local interactions between social, economic, and natural resources. Moreover, there is a lack of general guidance on how to work with local materials and how to design nature-based solutions. 

This research explored what natural materials, processes, and design strategies can be used to enable local communities to participate directly in the protection of their coastal environments. 

MASTS Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland

MASTS | Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland

MASTS brings together over 800 researchers across 18 partner institutions and 11 research forums. MASTS consolidates Scotland’s marine research capabilities and welcomes membership from across the UK. MASTS fosters collaboration and promotes marine research to address both strategic and fundamental environmental challenges, covering areas from coastal zones to deep-sea ecosystems.