Eureka Awards 2025

The Sydney Institute of Marine Science is proud to celebrate a major achievement: the Living Seawalls team has been awarded the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Eureka Prize for Environmental Research at the 2025 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

Living Seawalls, a collaboration between Macquarie University, UNSW, and SIMS, is transforming the way we think about marine infrastructure. Instead of seeing seawalls and other built structures as lifeless barriers, the team has pioneered eco-engineered panels that mimic natural shorelines. These panels provide habitat for marine life — boosting biodiversity, improving water quality, and enhancing climate resilience in our urban waterways.

In Sydney Harbour, Living Seawalls panels have already made a measurable impact: 115 species were recorded living on the modules, a 20% increase compared to unmodified seawalls.

Science in Action

Behind these numbers is a dedicated team of scientists, engineers, and field researchers who have spent years turning research into real-world solutions. Their work isn’t confined to labs or offices. Living Seawalls researchers can be found out on boats, diving beneath waves, or kneeling on seawalls in all weather conditions — from scorching summer days to winter rainstorms — carefully counting invertebrates, monitoring algae, and refining designs to make urban coastlines more habitable.

This tedious fieldwork is what ensures that the project’s innovations are backed by rigorous science and ready to scale across Australia and the world.

A Moment of Recognition

![Living Seawalls team accepting the Eureka Prize award]

At the 2025 Eureka Prizes, often described as the “Oscars of Australian science,” the Living Seawalls team was recognised for their groundbreaking approach to eco-engineering.

“We’re honoured to be awarded the Australian Museum Eureka Prize this year. The Living Seawalls team is driven to turn our research into applied solutions along Sydney’s coastline and beyond. This recognition motivates us to keep pushing the boundaries and build a future coastline that benefits both humans and nature.”
– Dr. Janine Ledet, Research Associate, Living Seawalls

Building Hope for the Future

This award is more than a recognition of past achievements — it’s a celebration of what’s possible when innovative science, hard work, and collaboration come together. By reimagining seawalls as living, breathing habitats, the project is showing coastal cities around the world that infrastructure doesn’t have to come at the expense of nature.

For Sydney Harbour, it means more fish, crabs, seaweeds, and oysters reclaiming their place along our urban edges. For communities, it offers hope that cities and coastlines can thrive together.

As we celebrate this Eureka Prize, we also celebrate the countless hours the Living Seawalls team has poured into fieldwork, experimentation, and design. Their success is proof that science can deliver practical, nature-positive solutions for the challenges of our time.

Congratulations to the entire Living Seawalls team — a win not just for science, but for our harbour and future coastlines everywhere.