For years, the soft banks that shield the marsh below Garden City, South Carolina, have been steadily eroded by boat wakes, tides, and more regular storms. In 2024, Horry County used a different strategy that begins with something that most people would typically toss in the trash rather than using concrete or rock to hold the queue. The county started putting wire baskets packed with recycled oyster shells into the marsh along Atlantic Avenue, in collaboration with state wildlife officials, creating what is essentially a live reef that can simultaneously develop, filter water, and delay erosion.
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