Over 170 fifth-graders from Gulf Shores City Schools gathered at Gulf State Park on Thursday, Feb. 16, to install over 3,000 native dune-building vegetation to initiate coastal dunes along Gulf State Park.

Students partnered with Gulf State Park and Dune Doctors, a coastal restoration organization, to carry out the event.

Dune Doctors specializes in planning, constructing and maintaining native ecosystems and protective landscapes. As part of their mission to promote the importance of coastal resiliency, they developed an educational initiative called Planting for Protection to raise the next generation of coastal stewards.

Dune Doctors trains high school students on how to install native dune plants, and these P4P mentors, in turn, lead younger students in a hands-on, dune restoration.

“After participating in the P4P restoration, students leave with a sense of ownership over the dune ecosystem and become eager advocates for this delicate and critical ecosystem,” according to their website.

The initiative, led by 38 Gulf Shores high and middle school mentors, will work to preserve and protect the coastal dune ecosystem by lining the beach to protect against coastal erosion that can occur during extreme weather events.

“At the heart of who we are as a company, our mission is to promote coastal resiliency, and we have a responsibility to loop in the next generation to give them a strong understanding and investment in our environment,” said Amanda Post-Martins, marketing and education coordinator for Dune Doctors.

Students spent the day educating the elementary students on the purpose of the project while planting vegetation that will help create sand dunes to counteract storms and protect marine life.

“The sea oats will grow into the ground, sometimes as deep as 40 feet, interweave and create complex webs throughout the dunes to anchor the sand,” Post-Martins said. “They will resist storm surges and protect those habitats from elements like salt spray and high-speed winds.”

Peyton Morris, a 12th grader who participated in the event, said the dunes are especially important for locals.

“This is an amazing program, and the dunes are important because they protect the towns from flooding and keep animals from washing up,” Morris said.

Kelly Reetz, natural resource manager for Gulf State Park, oversees a program that collects donated trees from community members that are used to build the dunes.

“Students spent the day before the event arranging the trees into horseshoe shapes and are the only stabilizing force on the beach and keep the captured sand in place,” Post-Martins said.

Most of the high school student mentors are student ambassadors at Gulf Shores High School or participated in one of several environmental classes offered.

The middle school mentors were largely chosen based on leadership experience and an interest in environmental science. All fifth-grade students from Gulf Shores Elementary School participated in the event.

“I heard about it from my environmental science teacher, and I have cleaned the beaches before,” said Malicca Brown, a 12th grader at Gulf Shores High School. “I thought it sounded fun, and it is a great opportunity to get to mentor the younger kids.”

Kevin Ellis, another one of the high school mentors, said he participated in the event last year and was excited to have the opportunity to do it again.

“It is a lot of fun to connect with the younger students and teach them about the importance of the coast,” Ellis said. “It is a lot of hard work, but it’s a great experience to be able to do hands-on work to help our local environment.”