Since being named a finalist in the inaugural Earthshot Prize, an international search for environmental innovators launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation, Living Seawalls has exploded on the world stage. From our first Living Seawall in North Sydney, we can now be found in 21 locations in Australia and 6 countries around the world!
Living Seawalls is a SIMS flagship research programme that improves the ecological value of artificial structures and make them more useful for marine life. Artificial structure such as seawalls, wharves and pontoons have flat, featureless, vertical surfaces that can support very few species. Natural shorelines, such as rock platforms and mangroves contain a variety of different surface shapes such as rockpools, holes and crevices, which provide a wide range of habitat to support a diverse group of marine life. Living Seawall brings natural habitat to artificial structures, by designing panels containing complex habitat features based on nature. By using Living Seawalls habitat enhancement modules, artificial structures in our harbours and coastlines can be beneficial for both humans and nature.
The Living Seawall at Balmain East after 18 months – Aria Lee
Living seawalls underwater – Alex Goad
Living Seawalls is a SIMS flagship research programme that improves the ecological value of artificial structures and make them more useful for marine life. Artificial structure such as seawalls, wharves and pontoons have flat, featureless, vertical surfaces that can support very few species. Natural shorelines, such as rock platforms and mangroves contain a variety of different surface shapes such as rockpools, holes and crevices, which provide a wide range of habitat to support a diverse group of marine life. Living Seawall brings natural habitat to artificial structures, by designing panels containing complex habitat features based on nature. By using Living Seawalls habitat enhancement modules, artificial structures in our harbours and coastlines can be beneficial for both humans and nature.
The first Living Seawalls were installed in Sawmillers Reserve and Milsons Point in 2018. In these areas, our team of researchers conducted comprehensive ecological surveys to assess the impact of Living Seawalls on local biodiversity. We found that Living Seawalls can support up to 3 times the number of species than flat seawalls of a similar age. Our research allowed us to understand how marine organisms live and interact with our panels and how to optimise the designs to best support marine life in different conditions and locations.
From this promising start, Living Seawalls habitat panels were installed in Townsville and Adelaide, and internationally in Singapore, Gibraltar, Wales and Sweden. Many were installed as part of research collaborations with partner universities to assess the impact of Living Seawalls in different geographic zones. More Living Seawalls were installed in Sydney in Balmain, Clontarf, Fairlight and Rushcutters Bay.
Sawmillers Reserve installation
The newest international Living Seawall in Plymouth, UK – Louise Firth
Our research showed that Living Seawalls had the potential to be ecologically beneficial in harbours around the world. To achieve this we needed partners, both research and financial, around the world. This is when the Earthshot Prize helped us go global. The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance linked us up with international organisations such as Arup and DP World, which has helped us establish new Living Seawalls in Peru and USA! The news of Living Seawalls as an Earthshot Prize finalist has led to an enormous influx of requests for Living Seawalls and new Living Seawalls have been installed in South Korea, and Plymouth in the UK.
The demand for Living Seawalls panels is so great that we have established a manufacturing partnership with a producer in the UK and Ireland. Inland and Coastal Marina Systems will manufacture and supply Living Seawalls panels to UK and Europe. These panels will be made from excess concrete from the construction of wharves and pontoons. Recycling this concrete make these Living Seawalls panels doubly beneficial for the environment.
Though we have Living Seawalls on 5 continents, we have not forgotten about Sydney. This year we installed the first Living Seawall in Mosman at Ellery Park. This Living Seawall, supported by the Mosman Environmental Foundation, will allow us to examine how the Living Seawalls affect settlement and growth rates of oysters and other foundational species. Living Seawalls is also part of Project Restore, which brings together many of SIMS’s habitat restoration projects into one large seascape restoration programme. Through this an additional 4 Living Seawalls will be installed around Sydney Harbour.
With the proven results of our seawall panels, we are now adapting our habitat enhancement modules to enhance other types of artificial structures. This year we launched our Living Boulders at Lavender Bay. These modules contain rockpools that retain water at low tide, a vital habitat that was missing at this artificially constructed shoreline. We are soon to install our very first Living Pilings, modules that fit around wharf piles. These new modules work in the same way as the seawall panels – by providing a variety of habitat types, we can support a diverse range of marine life. By adapting and enhancing these artificial structures to support the marine environment, Living Seawalls can change the way we think about building in our harbours and coastlines.
