In partnership with Eden Gardens State Park, the 'Living Shoreline Trail' was carefully crafted to display the restoration efforts of CBA's Living Shoreline Initiative, in addition to showcasing the diverse vegetation found in the cultivated gardens of the Park.

A Living Shoreline is a management option that uses living plants, oyster shell, sand fill and offshore breakwaters to protect property from shoreline erosion. While the living shoreline at Eden Gardens was completed in January of 2014, CBA began constructing living shorelines in 2006, with goals of providing habitat for oyster settlement, increasing intertidal salt marsh habitat, and decreasing shoreline erosion. Living shorelines provide increased nursery, feeding and refuge habitat for estuarine organisms, while improving water quality by water filtration from oysters on the reef and storm water run-off purification by shoreline grasses.

Throughout the 161-acres of Eden Gardens, the 'Living Shoreline Trail' brochure highlights 18 of the Park's most notable plant species. Each stop is marked with a numbered trail marker that correlates with the numbers listed on the brochure. A few to name are the Kissing Tree (stop #2), the infamous Wedding Tree (stop #4) and the Resurrection Fern (stop #16). Half-way through the trail, participants are directed to the northern shoreline of the Park to Tucker Bayou. Amongst breath-taking views lie a CBA constructed living shoreline. In combination with the graphics displayed on the signage, the living shoreline tells a tale of the ecological benefits provided by choosing this eco-friendly management option to decrease erosion. Be on the lookout for the resident sheepshead and mullet that call this oyster reef their home!

The 'Living Shoreline Trail' is open 7-days a week, from 8:00am to sundown. While the trail is free to visitors of Eden Gardens, there is a $4.00 per vehicle fee due upon Park entry. Brochures for the 'Living Shoreline Trail' are available at the Park Office, located at the entrance of the Park.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony for the completion of the 'Living Shoreline Trail' will be held Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 4:00pm. CBA and Eden Gardens State Park invite you to join us for this celebration! Park fees will be waived for all those attending the ribbon cutting, just RSVP to gwinr@nwfsc.edu!

To view the 'Living Shoreline Trail' Brochure, click the following link - 'Living Shoreline Trail' at Eden Gardens State Park Brochure.