Living Shoreline Project

The Living Shoreline Project planter bed located at St. Michael Catholic Church is a partnership between Stella Maris Explorers, St. Michael Catholic Church, Mississippi State University Extension Center - Coastal Conservation and Restoration, and the Native Plant Producer Network. Living Shorelines are an important component of healthy and resilient coastlines.

The purpose of this partnership is grow the sea grass plants (Juncus Roemerianus and Spartina Alterniflora) in this planter to maturity while giving the children of the Explorers Club, the East Biloxi Youth group, and others interested in this initiative the opportunity learn about native sea grasses and healthy local coastlines. The mature sea grasses will be transplanted in to our Gulf Coast ecosystem by the MSU Extension Center.

Saltmarsh plants are an important component of healthy and resilient coastlines – helping to mitigate the effects of erosion and flooding, improving water quality, and providing habitat for native fauna. The Native Plant Producer Network, launched in 2024, aims to build a network of native plant producers to support local living shoreline restoration projects. Currently, there is a disconnect between the growing demand for restoration efforts and the limited availability of locally sourced wetland plants, which makes it challenging to complete projects efficiently. 

Grant money awarded to MSU covers all the expenses of this project except the water costs. If you'd like to donate to offset the cost of the water consumption, please do so via this link (you'll be directed to Zeffy).