Climate Interest Group Tours Cardiff Living Dunes
Rosette Garcia | Published on 4/15/2024
On the day of the full solar eclipse, April 8, 2024, The Climate Interest Group enjoyed a lovely lunch at Las Olas before touring the Cardiff Living Dunes with Todd Mierau, Encinitas Coastal Program Administrator.
The group learned from Todd how the dunes were originally set with large boulders, known as "riprap," to protect the Coast Highway. As part of a collaboration between the Nature Collective, the CA State Coastal Conservancy and the CA State Parks, construction on the design began in 2017, which included covering the riprap with sand, planting it with flowering dune plants, and creating a walking path and bike lane. Completed in 2019, Todd described how the dunes successfully protected the highway from recent extreme winter storms without the sand being swept away. These dunes, one of the few projects like it in the state are a beautiful and natural solution created by the City of Encinitas to adapt to sea level rise. Thank you, Todd Mierau, for the excellent tour!