Season 2, Episode 5
How Living Shorelines Mitigate Storm Damage and Coastal Erosion with Rachel Gittman
In this episode of From the Field, Dr. Rachel Gittman, a coastal ecologist and assistant professor East Carolina University, explains how living shorelines like marshes and mangroves can lead to shoreline stabilization. This could prevent serious damage from natural disasters.
You'll Learn
Rachel’s academic journey.
How a career fair led to consulting work with the federal government.
Rachel’s push for living shorelines vs man-made structures like bulkheads.
The Gittman Lab.
The meaning of the term “living shoreline.”
Why it’s difficult to convince coastal homeowners to make the switch.
The type of damage caused from erosion and man-man infrastructure.
Where and when the living shoreline doesn’t work.
The global application of living shorelines.
We must adapt to change.
Be optimistic despite climate change and its effects.
Links From the Episode:
About Rachel
ABOUT Dr. Rachel Gittman
Dr. Gittman, an Assistant Professor in the the Department of Biology and Coastal Studies Institute at East Caroline University, researches several related topics including marine community ecology, restoration ecology, coastal management and policy and sustainablility science. Rachel’s career has spanned from being an environmental consultant in Washington D.C. to building her own research lab, called The Gittman Lab. Rachel builds on coastal defense strategies to fight against increasing storm events and sea level rise, which have also increased due to human development. The Lab also focuses on creating natural shorelines and researches how resilient these natural shorelines are in comparison to man-made structures.
Hosts & Guests
Priya Shelly – Host
Rachel Gittman – Guest