Closing Bell: Over the Weekend, Beach Grass Planted to Help Protect Rockaway Beach

This Saturday and Sunday, volunteers visited Rockaway Beach to help plant beach grass on top of the dunes to help better protect the shoreline. According to the Parks Department, the roots of the beach grass strengthens the dunes by holding sand in place. The blades also trap windblown sand, increasing dune size. Parks has planted beach grass from native crops in Rockaway and Staten Island since Hurricane Sandy, and they even created a beach grass “farm” at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

These plants went on dunes that the Army Corps of Engineers is currently constructing. You can see more pictures of the event this weekend after the jump.

Photos by NYC Parks Department