News
Boston Adopts Living Seawalls for Coastal Climate Resilience
E+E Leader for a Sustainable Tomorrow
December 6, 2024
Living seawalls are engineered coastal structures designed to support marine biodiversity while providing protection against erosion and wave impact. They combine traditional seawall designs with eco-friendly modifications to enhance habitat creation for marine life. Unlike conventional seawalls, which are often flat and smooth, living seawalls incorporate complex textures, shapes, and materials that mimic natural coastal environments such as rock pools, reefs, and mangrove roots.
This initiative, developed in collaboration with the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, integrates climate adaptation with ecological restoration. According to Mayor Michelle Wu, the project showcases Boston's commitment to blending innovation and nature to address rising sea levels and coastal challenges. Read more
Protective sea walls recently installed in East Boston already have tenants
Boston Globe
November 1, 2024
The new waterfront residences in East Boston already have tenants: a snail and two mussels that have snuggled into the crevices and pockets of an undulating concrete panel attached to a vertical sea wall of granite blocks.
“Our first pioneer!” proclaimed marine biologist Jarrett Byrnes, who is conducting an experiment in Boston to make the many sea walls here a friendlier habitat for marine organisms in the age of climate change and rising oceans.
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MAAH Stone Book Award honors three authors of African American histories
Bay State Banner
October 30, 2024
Three books — a chronicle of Black Wall Street and biographies of W.E.B Du Bois and scholar Merze Tate — are the recipients of this year’s MAAH Stone Book Award, a collaboration between the Museum of African American History and the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation that recognizes scholars whose work explores facets of African American history across the country. Read more