SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — After severe storms ripped through most of coastal Maine's sand dunes, locals in southern Maine are putting the environment's health into their own hands by rebuilding sand dunes.
Tristram Howard reached out to the South Portland community to help replant washed away grass at Willard Beach, which normally helps to strengthen the dunes.
"The storm washed out and kind of left it all over the beach, and we've been digging through that ever since and finding what we can and putting it in the ground," Howard said.
Recruiting the help of students from Friends School of Portland, folks hit the beach to plant around 700 bundles of grass and vegetation on Tuesday.
"I had seen all of the waves washing up, and I came down and saw all of the beach like, gone," eighth grader Zoey Whited said, who watched the tides take away the former dunes during this year's previous storms.
By replanting the grass, the hope participants have is to naturally help recollect the sand as it gets caught in the vegetation. Whited says she's proud to be able to make impact for the environment in her own backyard.
"We're supposed to dig a hole like about as long as our hand, and put the little bulb of grass in it, and then cover it with sand and put seaweed on top," Whited said.
But restoring the dunes isn't always that simple. An upcoming nor'easter in Maine's potential future might bring with it a storm surge according to predictions by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that could wash away any progress.
Despite the set backs, students know Tuesday's efforts are all part of the learning experience of becoming citizen scientists.
"So when we can get kids out there making something happen, every day, they can feel like they made a difference," science teacher Nicole Favreau said.