Santa Monica sand dunes rebuild an ecosystem, slowing erosion and protecting the coastline

Rising seas and stronger storms are threatening California's coastline, but in Santa Monica, restoring sand dunes is helping protect beaches, wildlife, and the communities that depend on them.

The local nonprofit environmental group, The Bay Foundation, is working to rebuild an ecosystem that once thrived all along Southern California's coast.

"Dunes used to be pretty abundant here, so we're just taking them back to their normal habitat, what they used to look like in the past," Maria Jazmin-Rios, The Bay Foundation Coastal Adaptation Program project manager, said.

Sand dunes offer a natural buffer, absorbing wave energy, slowing erosion, and protecting the coastline. In Santa Monica, the nonprofit built the first dune habitat in 2016, covering about three acres near the Annenberg Beach House.

Five more acres were added in 2024, and following the success of these pilot dunes, the Coastal Commission permitted an expansion to over 30 acres, from the Santa Monica Pier to the Venice Beach border.

"The native plants provide that habitat value for native wildlife. So, if you want to have endangered El Segundo blue butterflies, you need Sea Cliff Buckwheat, which is the plant that they count on,"  Tom Ford, The Bay Foundation CEO, said. "So, we're building the ecology together again."

The goal isn't to close off the beach; it's to make sure future generations can continue to enjoy it.

"We work extremely hard with the lifeguards, with the police, with the sports groups, with the various clubs down here to make sure that all that space for those activities is preserved," Ford said. "Your beach is still your beach, only better."

Unlike hard infrastructure that can ultimately sacrifice the shoreline, these living systems continue working year after year.

"Sea walls provide some protection for what's behind them. They do not protect what's in front of them. And LA, without a beach, is not an option," Ford said.