Maine students restore coastal dunes with 20,000 grass stalks

University of New England students joined locals to replant Biddeford Pool beaches devastated by 2024 storms, using dune grass to trap sand and rebuild eroded shorelines.

In March 2026, University of New England students and community volunteers undertook the second phase of a shoreline recovery project at Biddeford Pool, Maine, implanting 20,000 vegetation shoots across a quarter-acre stretch of beach. The effort represents an expanded commitment to repair damage inflicted by catastrophic winter storms two years earlier.

January 2024 brought severe weather that carved an estimated $90 million in destruction across Maine's coast, according to state assessments reported by the university. Biddeford Pool bore particular damage, with significant portions of protective dunes obliterated, prompting the Biddeford Pool Conservation Trust and UNE to coordinate restoration measures.

The second-year initiative marks an intensified scale compared to initial work. The trust procured 66 percent additional shoots than the first annual planting, introducing 20,000 specimens to regenerate approximately 1,200 feet of affected shoreline. The approach relies on native dune vegetation to mechanically stabilise sand and encourage natural accretion along the beach edge.

The March 10 planting brought together undergraduates enrolled in Assistant Professor Will Kochtitzky's Geographic Information Systems course. Participants dug individual holes and inserted the shoots into compacted sand, creating four experimental zones with varying shoot density-sections spaced 18 inches apart alternated with tighter 12-inch configurations. Kochtitzky's teams will employ aerial drone observation to determine which spacing maximises vegetation survival and sand capture efficiency.

The restoration serves a dual purpose: physical shoreline recovery alongside scientific investigation of coastal dynamics. Kochtitzky installed an anemometer on conservation trust property, a meteorological sensor recording wind velocity and direction in real time near the dune perimeter. "Wind erosion represents the primary threat to these features," Kochtitzky explained, noting that continuous wind measurements provide crucial data for understanding dune behaviour.

This monitoring network extends beyond wind alone. A navigation buoy positioned offshore measures wave height and frequency, while a separate station in an adjacent pond tracks water chemistry. "We're assembling information across nearly every environmental variable affecting this system," Kochtitzky said, describing plans to synthesise multiple data streams to model dune evolution.

Visible evidence demonstrates the mechanism's effectiveness. Vegetation planted during 2025 had become partially buried by migrating sand during the intervening winter-a development Lucie Fontein, the conservation trust's president, identified as confirmation the system functions correctly. "Sand accumulates around the shoots, then vegetation extends upward through the fresh sand layer, capturing additional material as it grows," Fontein explained. "The dunes eventually rise higher through this iterative process."

The project's community dimensions resonated with student participants. Sophie Cronin, an Environmental Studies major graduating in 2026, credited the hands-on work with local residents as transformative. "Witnessing accelerated ecological transformation firsthand struck many of us, particularly students unfamiliar with Maine's coastal dynamics, as genuinely shocking," Cronin reflected on how the 2024 storms reshaped her perspective on climate vulnerability.

John Montenegro, an Environmental Science major from Houston, noted that collaborating with longtime Biddeford residents deepened his appreciation for the region's ecological and cultural significance. "It's meaningful connecting with people invested in this shoreline and understanding the emotional dimension behind their commitment," Montenegro said. "Our participation demonstrates reciprocal commitment to addressing shared challenges."

The partnership between UNE and the conservation trust, cultivated through several prior years of collaborative investigation, intensified following the January 2024 destruction. The planting initiative now generates research material enabling comparative analysis of vegetation performance across spatial and temporal dimensions, positioning the work as both restorative intervention and long-term observational study.

Maine coast, dune restoration, University of New England, coastal erosion, Biddeford Pool, environmental conservation, climate resilience