SEA BRIGHT — Volunteers are needed for a dune grass planting in the borough.
Heather Bedenko, a member of the dune committee, said crews will be working in the 300 block of Ocean Avenue on March 28.
“This is an ongoing effort for dune restoration,” she said of the annual plantings during the off-season.
The planting event will take place 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Parking will be available at the Beach Walk Hotel, 344 Ocean Ave.
Bedenko said the section of dunes that volunteers will be planting was damaged by the storm; however, she stressed that the dunes tend to be damaged when people walk through them.
“The entire root system is killed once you step on it,” she said of the grass, adding that the public should also keep their pets off the dune.
“There are access marks where the public can access the beach and not walk on the dunes.”
Bedenko said the dunes did “pretty well” this winter, with the committee holding plantings throughout the winter season.
Sea Bright relies on dunes for storm protection. The previous dune system, which was put in place over 1992-93, gradually eroded over the years before being completely wiped out by superstorm Sandy in 2012.
According to Bedenko, the dunes are built to varying heights over the stretch of 3.5 miles — except the areas near the beach clubs and Borough Hall — because the height of the sea wall that protects Ocean Avenue varies throughout the borough.
She said the restoration of the dunes started with area garden clubs after Sandy and has continued with volunteers of the dune committee.
Volunteers are encouraged to dress in layers, bring gloves, and bring tools/sticks for making holes in the sand for planting.
Bedenko said volunteers are invited back to help 11 a.m.-3 p.m. April 4 to plant some 2,000 shrubs that will provide another buffer for the dunes as secondary plants.
She informed the Borough Council at the meeting on March 17 that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has a nursery that sells 100 plants for $35. She said it would be a great investment for the borough to look into.
For more information, visit gotdunegrass.com.