Our coastlines are important to us and so too are the many man-made structures found there. These structures, for example sea walls, piers, lighthouses and breakwaters, provide us with access to the sea for jobs and industry and for recreation and fun and allow us to experience nature by providing a good place to explore and see diverse forms of marine life. These structures are part of our collective marine cultural heritage and are often an important link to our maritime past.

Many more are likely to be needed in the coming years to help expanding coastal communities adapt to the sea level rise and extreme weather patterns we are expecting. Existing structures will also need to be modified to remain fit for purpose.

To ensure future coastal construction projects are sensitive to nature, the Ecostructure team (scientific researchers) are interested to know more about these structures and what they mean for people and communities.

You can help by providing information to the Ecostructure Observatory and to tell them what they mean to you.

You can help by confirming when they were built, and for what purpose? What materials are they built from? Is there any wildlife growing on them? And how important are they to the local community?

To help the Ecostructure team please visit the Ecostructure Observatory website by clicking the link below.