Coastal Habitat Restoration & Intertidal Ecology

Doing something about it: debris audits, native planting and a citizen science BioBlitz.

Booking now

Each session3 hr a session

How oftenOnce a week

Cohort12–18 per cohort

SeasonYear-round · a new cohort starts each month

What you leave with

A cohort BioBlitz survey logged to iNaturalist, and a stretch of coast measurably cleaner

Direct environmental volunteer action combined with marine ecology teaching. Marine debris protocols, intertidal zonation, native dune planting and iNaturalist surveying.

The data goes somewhere. NOAA debris logging at one end of the rotation and an iNaturalist BioBlitz at the other both feed regional marine sanctuary management.

What makes this one worth it

Marine Debris Auditing & Shoreline Cleanup
Low-Tide Intertidal Zones & Macroinvertebrate Ecology
Coastal Salt Marsh & Native Dune Planting
Citizen Science BioBlitz & Community Reflection

What is included

All 4 sessions of the 4-week cohort — 12 hours of instruction
A place held for you for the whole run, in a cohort of 12–18
Every piece of equipment listed below, provided on the day
Your instructor, and their attention in a group this size

What to bring

Water, and something to eat if you want it
Nothing else — the kit is provided

How it runs

Once a week · 3 hr a session

Frequency: 1x / week — 3 hours
Session length: 3 hr
Each month: 4 sessions, about 12 hours
Cohort size: 12 – 18 participants
Where: Regional beaches, rocky tidepools, and coastal salt marsh preserves
Level: All Levels (family friendly)
Commitment: Monthly — stay as long as it is worth it

What you cover, in rotation

The group works through these in order and then begins again on fresh ground. Join at whatever stage it is on — nothing here assumes you were there for the last one, and nothing runs out — or drop in for a single session if that is all you can manage.

Stage 1Marine Debris Auditing & Shoreline Cleanup
- NOAA marine debris data logging and classification protocols.
- Beach sweep techniques targeting nurdles, microplastics and fishing line.
- Dune stabilisation and protecting Western Snowy Plover nesting zones.
Stage 2Low-Tide Intertidal Zones & Macroinvertebrate Ecology
- Tidepool zonation: splash, high, mid and low tide microhabitats.
- Sea anemones, ochre sea stars, hermit crabs, nudibranchs and chitons.
- Gentle touch rules, stepping ethics and rock-flipping restoration rules.
Stage 3Coastal Salt Marsh & Native Dune Planting
- Sowing pickleweed, saltgrass and coast goldenbush.
- Eradicating invasive iceplant so native seedbanks can emerge.
- Watershed runoff dynamics and wetland bio-filtration.
Stage 4Citizen Science BioBlitz & Community Reflection
- An iNaturalist BioBlitz survey across the coastal rocky shelf.
- Aggregating data for regional marine sanctuary management.
- A beach campfire with warm tea and conservation action pledges.