The built environment has steadily made its way into marine environments. Globally the area of seafloor impacted by manmade structures succeeds that of marine ecosystems such as seagrass forests and mangroves. Built structures such as marinas, energy infrastructure and coastline protection make up the majority of these structures. Their surfactes often lack complexity, meaning they are an unsuitable environment for marine species to inhabit. 

Marine species require complex environments to thrive for a number of reasons including protection, feeding, nutrient cycles and nurseries.

Living seawalls poses a unique solution to this, allowing existing infrastructures to enhance local biodiversity in their environments. The solution entails engineering complex shaped attatchments for surfaces designed with ecological concepts in mind. These structures promote the growth of marine wildlife and convert inhabitable surfaces to ideal environments for marine species to thrive. 

This is an exciting example of the interception between engineering, sustainability and ecology, and how innovation and collaboration across these discaplines can provide unique solutions to contemporary environmental issues.

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Citation:

Living Seawalls. “Living Seawalls.” Living Seawalls, 2021, https://www.livingseawalls.com.au/.