Using nature to help protect the Victoria Causeway
Sometimes the best solutions to nature's challenges come from nature itself.
This past summer, members of the South Shore Watershed Association (SSWA) took on a project in collaboration with the PEI government to help slow erosion and reduce impacts to the Victoria causeway by using nature-based solutions.
Romy Munkres, project leader with SSWA, explained that the provincially-owned property next to the Victoria causeway roadway is eroding quickly.
“This project location was chosen due to the high vulnerability of this section of coast, the proximity of the Victoria causeway road, and the government ownership of two parcels of land between the shoreline and the roadway,” Munkres says.
“The Victoria causeway is one of the most erosion-prone on the south shore and the road is very important as it is one of only two routes providing access to the village of Victoria-by-the-Sea.”
The project uses a nature-based approach with many benefits. Native salt-tolerant shrubs will be planted along the bank and their roots will gradually stabilize the soil over the coming years to help slow erosion.
“We are planting throughout the 15-meter buffer zone to create a web of roots that will grow further inland over time,” they said. “The nature-based solution uses native plants that will not negatively impact the area and reduce erosion, while maintaining the area’s natural habitat.”
For this location, wild rose and bayberry were used. Munkres explained they were useful for several reasons.
“First, these shrubs are incredibly tolerant of salt, which is vital in a coastal planting site. Second, they have deep roots to help to stabilize the soil and hold the bank together, slowing erosion. Third, they are native species to the island. Using native species in nature-based solutions is important because they are perfectly adapted to local conditions and can do the job that they are being used for. In this case, they help stabilize an eroding cliff.”
Long term, the hope is that this planting will spread throughout the buffer zone and beyond, creating a stable web of roots that holds the loose, sandy soil together and slows erosion along the bank.
“Erosion is a natural process and there is no solution, nature-based or engineered, that will hold erosion back forever, so the idea is to slow the erosion from reaching the causeway road and increase the lifespan of the road,” Munkres said.
Brian Thompson, Director of the Department's Land and Environment Division, says projects of this nature have been very successful thanks to partnerships between provincial government and watershed groups across the province.
“The experience and efforts of the South Shore Watershed Association are greatly appreciated,” he says. “The partnerships we have developed with local watershed groups have been instrumental in moving these projects forward.”
With a nature-based approach, the benefits are far reaching. Besides being more cost effective, it also causes less interference to the habitat and the native species that live there.
“This location is home to a flourishing colony of bank swallows, a threatened species, and a well-used beach,” they added. “Nature-based solutions were the best option to reduce erosion and protect both the swallows and the beach.”
SSWA and the provincial government recognize that more actions may be needed in the future to ensure the causeway continues to protect this important infrastructure.
For now, the preferred option is the nature-based approach.