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Restoring the coast

Mangroves, dunes and saltmarsh — habitats maintained by movement, where fixing the process matters more than planting.

Restoration·Trees
  1. 01
    Young mangroves establishing naturally on a restored tidal flat
    Restoration2815 min

    Mangrove Restoration: Why Most Planting Projects Fail

    Hydrology first, propagules second — the ecological method that succeeds where mass propagule planting has failed for decades.

  2. 02
    Marram grass growing on a windblown foredune above a sandy beach
    Restoration0915 min

    Coastal Dunes: Building Land Out of Moving Sand

    Marram grass traps sand and grows through it — plus why stabilising a dune system too thoroughly destroys the habitat it protects.

  3. 03
    Mangrove roots extending into shallow tropical water
    Trees2824 min

    Mangroves: Coastal Guardians

    Salt-tolerant trees that build coastline, store carbon at five times the rate of upland forest, and feed three quarters of tropical fisheries.

  4. 04
    Dense orange sea buckthorn berries clustered along thorny silver-leaved stems
    Trees4155 min

    Sea Buckthorn: Nitrogen, Salt, and Sand

    A nitrogen-fixing pioneer that stabilises dunes, tolerates salt spray, and carries one of the highest vitamin C loads of any temperate fruit.

  5. 05
    Jute netting and coir logs stabilising a bare slope with young plantings emerging
    Restoration1534 min

    Erosion Control: Stabilise Before You Plant

    Why preventing soil loss is the essential first step in restoration, and the passive and living methods that hold ground while ecosystems recover.

  6. 06
    Restored wetland with open water, reed beds, and diverse marginal vegetation
    Restoration5173 min

    Wetland Restoration: The Most Productive Ecosystems on Earth

    How to restore wetlands by blocking drains, creating ponds, and reconnecting floodplains so they filter water, store carbon, and buffer floods.

  7. 07
    Field measurement of tree diameter with a tape during a forest carbon survey
    Restoration0645 min

    Carbon Accounting: Measuring What a Project Actually Stores

    Additionality, permanence, leakage and baselines — why most tree-planting carbon claims overstate, and what credible measurement looks like.