Living Seawall

Living Seawalls is an initiative of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science to incorporate ecologically friendly principles into new and existing features of the built environment. Man-made seawalls take up over fifty percent of Sydney’s harbour foreshore in place of natural habitats like sandy beaches, seagrass, oyster reefs and mangroves that would usually exist in these locations. With the ongoing nature of climate change and continued rising of seal levels globally, living seawalls are designed to mitigate the damage that climate change-induced construction causes on the natural environments.

The initiative sees the modification of existing seawalls around the harbour to make them more suitable to supporting diverse ecosystems. 3D-printed panels are attached to seawalls, mimicking habitats for kelp and crustaceans like rockpools, crevices and swim-throughs for fish, adding complex habitats to seawalls that support biodiverse life, and contribute to the health of the harbour. Each panel lasts for up to twenty years.

Their position close to the water at Pier 2/3 is a reminder that examples of these living seawalls can be found all over Sydney Harbour.