A Landowner's Guide to Restoring Niagara's Sandy Shorelines

Immerse yourself in a journey towards a more sustainable future for Niagara's coastal ecosystems and experience the fulfillment that comes with connecting to our Great Lakes.

Niagara’s Great Lakes shorelines are home to a diverse range of habitats. Coastal sand dunes are one of the most important, yet they receive little recognition for the benefits they provide us.

Sand dunes provide essential services to both humans and nature by supporting numerous recreational activities, a wide variety of plants and animals, and by encouraging economic growth and stability in our local communities. Coastal sand dunes also provide some of the best shoreline protection against extreme weather.

This guide is your call to action;

a roadmap to the best practices for protecting and restoring Niagara's sand dune ecosystems.

This is also an opportunity to acknowledge and honor the nature-based stewardship practices of Indigenous peoples. Our approach recognizes the vital role that Indigenous knowledge and perspectives play in the sustainable management of these ecosystems, and the importance of working in partnership with the natural world to ensure it's preservation for all.

In recent years, more Great Lakes communities have started using nature-based solutions to sustainably manage shoreline erosion and protect coastal communities from the volatile weather brought on by climate change. 

Nature-based solutions are efforts that help protect, enhance, or encourage natural processes.

This could be anything from encouraging wind-blown sand accumulation, to limiting pedestrian traffic in sensitive areas. Working with nature is often more cost-effective, sustainable, and resilient than traditional engineering approaches like stone walls.

For information about nature-based solutions in other Canadian ecosystems, visit Environment and Climate Change Canada’s page on Nature-based climate solutions, linked below.

The next three chapters of this guide will introduce landowners to sustainable and affordable nature-based solutions for restoring their sandy beach to a healthy dune ecosystem.

Managing invasive species will be essential to the success of your restoration efforts.

Invasive plants are non-native species that were introduced from other parts of the globe. They often outcompete native plants for nutrients, light, water, and other resources. Left unchecked, invasive plants will take over an area, reducing biodiversity and the ecosystem's resilience to environmental stress. This chapter will highlight some of the invasive species that frequent our coasts, and introduce various strategies that can be used to manage the unwelcome invaders. 

The first step to managing invasive species is to familiarize yourself with the plants that most commonly invade coastal environments.

Examples of three very common invasive species found at beaches throughout Niagara are described below.

Manual Removal: Hand-pulling or digging out invasive species is generally the best approach for smaller, residential removal projects. Shovels, weed-whackers, and weed-pullers are effective tools to manually remove invasives. Efforts should be made to remove the entire plant, including its roots, to prevent regrowth. Be sure to wear the appropriate PPE to avoid injury (i.e. work gloves, boots, safety glasses, long pants etc.).

Prescribed Burns: For centuries, indigenous groups throughout the Great Lakes region have used fire to manage plants and landscapes- including sand dune ecosystems. Beyond various cultural purposes, tending to these fires enhances our shared natural resources by controlling invasive plants, returning nutrients to the soil, and reducing the likelihood of uncontrolled brush fires. In Niagara, prescribed burns must be carried out by an authorized professional; fire can lead to more harm than good if delivered incorrectly.

Herbicides: Applying herbicides can effectively control invasive species in larger areas. However, they should only be applied by trained professionals when absolutely necessary, and without harming native species.  Chemical treatments can lead to more harm than good if applied incorrectly.

When removing invasive species it is important to seek the advice of experts and to follow best management practices.

In challenging cases, a combination of management techniques may yield the best results. For more information on Best Management Practices for controlling various invasive species, click the link below.

 _{Note: Be sure to obtain all necessary permits!}  

This chapter will provide guidance to landowners seeking to naturalize their sandy shoreline.

Coastal sand dunes depend on plants to trap and deposit wind-blown sand.

Once invasive plants have been removed, native coastal vegetation can be reintroduced to the site. Vegetation will help to stabilize the shoreline and provide habitat for wildlife. It can be done by seeding, or by planting vegetation during the spring or fall when plants are in their dormant phase.  Locally harvested plant material should be used whenever possible to avoid the risk of introducing pests and diseases to the site, and to minimize stress on the plant.

 ^{Note: Planting vegetation is more efficient than starting from seed. Many shorelines already contain a healthy seed bank of native plants, just waiting for the right conditions to sprout. Planting dune-building vegetation like beachgrass will encourage the conditions that support their growth.} 

Transplanting locally- and sustainably-harvested beachgrass is the most effective, affordable, and responsible strategy for preserving the ecological integrity of Niagara’s sand dune ecosystems.

Beachgrass acts as a wind barrier, interrupting air flow and depositing sand being carried by the wind. As sand accumulates, the dune grows, which encourages the beachgrass to grow as well.

As the beachgrass spreads, its roots stitch a network through the sand, trapping particles and stabilizing the sand against wind and wave action.

Meanwhile, the beachgrass shoots continue growing upwards toward the sun, providing critical habitat for coastal wildlife and species at risk, and ensuring there is plenty of shelter, food, and nesting habitat to maintain stable populations. 

Learn more about beachgrass in our factsheet, linked below.

Another effective tool that helps to restore sand dune ecosystems is creating a temporary wind block.

Although dunes can regenerate naturally with time and limited disturbance, installing wooden sand fencing (better known as snow fencing) can restore or form a new dune in a fraction of the time. The fence serves two major purposes: 

1. It keeps people and vehicles away from sensitive areas. 
2. It acts as a wind-break that deposits and traps sand– similar to beachgrass. As wind carrying airborne sand collides with the fence, it slows, releasing and depositing the sand. Over time, wind-blown sand will accumulate around the fence, helping to re-establish the dune. 

It sounds simple enough, but four key factors must be considered to establish when and where to install your sand fencing. These factors are described below.

• T-posts
• 18 gauge aluminum wire
• Wire cutters
• Post pounder
• Work gloves
• Ear protection
• Wooden slat snow fencing

1. Space out T-posts ~4 ft from each other, and a few meters from the toe of the eroding sand dune.
2. Using a post pounder, pound the T-posts into sand a minimum of 3ft deep.
3. Stretch out the sand fence and lean it against the T-posts (Tip: Sand fence must be installed on the lake side of the T-posts).
4. Use aluminum wire to secure sand fencing to the T-post. Two to three points of contact is ideal. Avoid securing the bottom of the T-posts (it makes removal challenging).
5. Stretch the fence to the next T-post, making sure it’s taught, and repeat step 4.
6. Continue this process until the roll of the sand fence is secure.
7. Continue securing additional rolls of fence as needed to protect the desired area.

Tip: Before pounding in all your T-posts, triple check your spacing! A common mistake is overestimating how taught you can make the fence. When this happens, the end of a fence roll might not reach the next T-post, and you may have to pull out the remaining posts and try again. Trust us– you’ll want to avoid this at all costs. 

Now that we've covered the best methods for restoring your sandy shoreline, it's time to learn more about your beach so you can develop an informed project plan.

This section will highlight various strategies you can use to research your property.

While familiarizing yourself with the nature and landscape of the beach, try to answer these four questions...

Take photos, measurements, and notes to record your observations.

Once you have established the background information about your site, consider seeking the advice of experts in sand dune restoration, like NPCA restoration specialists, or coastal engineers. They can provide a more in-depth evaluation of the beach and determine if restoration is necessary and feasible.

Now that you're more familiar with your beach, it's time to start planning your project! This is the time to really consider:

1. the project objective(s)(what you want to accomplish),
2. the proposed solution (your intended methods to get there), and 
3. the steps needed to accomplish those goals. Be sure to check if your project will require a permit under local, provincial, and/or federal regulations, and create your project plan accordingly. 

Tip: Write your objectives and proposed solution down on paper! Having clear and well-defined objectives for a restoration project creates a roadmap; helping to guide your project activities. Examples are provided below.

The most successful projects encourage community-based action and foster local awareness!

Note: The overall goal is to restore your sandy shoreline to a healthier state, but your project can have multiple objectives!

Once the project plan is complete, and if necessary, has been approved by the appropriate authorities, you’re finally ready to start the restoration work! Consider inviting your shoreline neighbours to help with the effort. Not only will it foster a sense of community, but it will also help promote nature-based shorelines in your neighbourhood. Who knows, maybe next spring you'll be helping to restore their shoreline!

Don't forget to take photos to document your progress!

After your nature-based solutions have been implemented, it's important to monitor the project. This includes the vegetation, wildlife, and removing any invasive species that may re-emerge. Monitoring provides valuable information on the progress and effectiveness of your restoration efforts, and allows for adjustments to be made as needed.

Consult an expert in ecology, biology, or restoration if you need help with these activities. 

Regularly monitoring your project will help determine if your efforts were successful, or will identify areas in need of attention and allow you to adapt your approach.  

 _{Note: Niagara College Office of Sustainability students are a valuable resource if you need extra help with monitoring. They are often looking for additional experience to help improve and expand their skill sets.} 

Now, let's take a closer look at real-life examples of meaningful and sustainable restoration in Niagara.

The following case studies demonstrate the positive impact of localized restoration efforts in Niagara, and provides insights into the challenges that landowners may run into along the way.

Keep in mind that not all restoration projects will turn out as you initially expected!

Much like what happened in the Nickel Beach case study, the community and environment might benefit from your efforts in unexpected ways. When working in partnership with nature, it's important to be flexible so you can adapt to unpredictable variables, and better support long-term sustainability. By working together and adopting a nature-based approach, we can support a healthy and diverse range of plants and animals, fight against the impacts of climate change, and preserve our shorelines for future generations to enjoy.

Restoring and preserving Niagara’s disappearing sand dune ecosystems will help to ensure a brighter and more sustainable future for everyone that calls this region home.