South Portland used 200+ Christmas trees to rebuild a storm-eroded Maine beach

The wider project also examined how woody debris could be used in different coastal settings. At Pemaquid Beach in Bristol, the storm had carved steep, eroded faces into the dunes. After a powerful winter storm stripped away sections of Maine’s coastline in December 2022, an unlikely form of coastal protection began taking shape on the sand. Instead of sending discarded Christmas trees to waste facilities, South Portland put more than 200 of them to work along the damaged Willard Beach, where they were arranged to slow erosion and capture drifting sand, states a report by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management. The experiment was part of a broader effort led by the Maine Geological Survey, working with South Portland, Bristol and Phippsburg. Across three beaches, storm debris and unwanted holiday trees were repurposed as temporary structures to help rebuild dunes. Within months, vegetation began returning in some areas.Turning trees into dune buildersAccording to the report, the approach was straightforward: place woody material where dunes had been damaged and allow wind and waves to do much of the restoration work. At Willard Beach, the Christmas trees were positioned in rows paral...