.png)
At the beginning of the 20th century, Miami became the ultimate tourist destination. This Florida city was the place to be with its miles of golden sand, warm turquoise waters, and temperate climate.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, along the Pacific Ocean, the beaches of Los Angeles were very different. Rocky and wild, with cliffs dropping sharply into cold waves, the Los Angeles coastline contrasted with Miami's.
The Southern Pacific train, for its part, ran along tracks parallel to the ocean.
The authorities in Los Angeles had big plans to change the image of California's beaches. "They wanted to turn Santa Monica into the American Riviera," says Elsa Devienne, a history professor at Northumbria University in the UK and author of a book on the history of Los Angeles beaches. "Santa Monica aspired to become the seaside city for the rich and famous, and in general, the coastal cities in the area were filled with big ambitions."
The beaches of Santa Monica and Venice, though small and crowded by the growing number of families arriving during the 1920s population boom, didn't offer much space. "The beaches were so narrow that there was hardly any room to walk when the tide was high," explains Devienne. Back then, the beaches were between 22.7 and 30.3 meters wide, far from the current 151 meters.
Faced with the increasing demand, the authorities decided to act. They chose to expand the beach, bringing sand from the dunes of Playa del Rey to the south, and also from a failed marina project in Santa Monica. Between 1939 and 1957, more than 13 million cubic meters of sediment were poured onto the beach, equivalent to over 5,000 Olympic swimming pools.
Despite the risky nature of the intervention, the result was successful. Today, the beaches of Los Angeles remain wide and beautiful, although they face new challenges due to climate change and coastal erosion. The sand that once withstood the passage of time is now vulnerable to storm surges and flooding, which could lead to the loss of between a third and two-thirds of Southern California's beaches by 2100 due to rising sea levels.
Restoring Dunes to Protect the Coastline
In this context, a team led by Tom Ford, president of the local nonprofit organization The Bay Foundation, has begun working on a natural solution: restoring sand dunes. Ford and his team decided to end the daily beach cleaning process, which had been carried out for years using heavy tractors to remove trash and promote recreational activities, but also had destructive effects on local biodiversity.
The restoration project began in 2015, when the foundation fenced off a three-acre area in Santa Monica and planted native plants in the sand. With the arrival of heavy rains, the seeds took root, and gradually, the dunes began to form again, acting as a natural buffer against coastal erosion.
By the end of 2016, the first dunes were already reaching between 30 and 90 centimeters in height, and the results were surprising. "The plants have grown better than expected," says Ford. But the most striking aspect was the return of wildlife species, such as the western snowy plover, a threatened species that hadn't been seen in the Los Angeles area for nearly 70 years. In 2017, a nest with three plover eggs was found within the restored dunes, marking a milestone in the recovery of the coastal ecosystem.
The project has had a positive impact not only on wildlife but also on plants. Species such as the pink sand verbena, which had not been planted by the foundation, have also reappeared. As the dunes grow, the plants trap the sand blown by the wind, forming natural barriers that protect the beach from erosion and the advancing waves.
A Resounding Success and a Model to Follow
In 2023, the restored dunes were put to the test by a strong storm that caused high tides. While the un-restored beaches suffered significant erosion, the restoration area in Santa Monica withstood the impact of the waves. The sand infiltrated the dunes, preventing the waves from advancing toward nearby infrastructure, such as the Pacific Coast Highway.
Timu Gallien, a professor of civil engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, explains that dunes play a crucial role in coastal protection by acting as natural barriers against waves and flooding. This natural protection approach has proven effective not only in Santa Monica but also in other restoration projects in California, such as the Cardiff State Beach project near San Diego, which has become a model for coastal protection.
As the Santa Monica restoration project has progressed, The Bay Foundation has expanded its intervention area, planting more seeds and establishing new dune zones. With the successful recovery of these natural ecosystems, the Santa Monica model is expected to be replicated on other beaches in Southern California, contributing to coastal resilience in the face of climate change.
The project has not only been an ecological success but also a social one. Ford and his team have observed how the community has responded positively to the restoration, with no incidents of vandalism and a growing appreciation for more natural beaches. "People are starting to see that beaches don’t have to be giant parking lots of sand," says Ford, and many officials from other coastal areas are taking note, eager to replicate this success in their own regions.
The restoration of dunes in Santa Monica has not only rejuvenated the coastline but also offered an important lesson on how to work with nature rather than trying to dominate it. Sand dunes are undoubtedly one of the best tools to protect our coasts and preserve biodiversity, ensuring that beaches continue to be a refuge for both humans and wildlife.
Comments