Living Seawalls were first developed by researchers in Sydney, Australia as a way to bring marine life back to built coastlines. Seawalls, pontoons and other structures often replace natural rocky shores, leaving fewer places for wildlife to live. Living Seawalls offer a simple idea: redesign these hard surfaces so nature can return.
Using advanced moulding and 3D design techniques, the panels recreate the pits, crevices and small pools you’d normally find on a rocky shoreline. These textured concrete tiles provide shelter and surfaces where seaweeds, shellfish and other marine species can settle and grow.
The panels can also be made using upcycled materials and fitted onto new or existing coastal structures. Installed in mosaic-style sections, they are designed to last at least 20 years in more sheltered marine environments.
Since the first Living Seawall was installed beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2018, the idea has spread around the world. Panels are now in place at around 20 sites, including locations in Australia, Plymouth in the UK, Gibraltar, Wales and Singapore, with more planned — including a future installation in Boston, USA.
Plymouth’s Living Seawall is designed to turn ordinary sea defences into thriving habitats for marine life. Specially textured tiles mimic the shape of natural rocky shores, giving seaweeds, shellfish and other species a place to settle and grow.
The idea came to Plymouth thanks to a partnership between the University of Plymouth (UoP) and local charity Our Only World, who first approached the team in 2019 to help bring a Living Seawall here. Working together, funding was secured and a full-scale Living Seawall was installed in Plymouth in August 2023.
Now, with earlier research complete, Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, in collaboration with UoP and the Marine Management Organisation, are continuing the surveying with a dedicated team of volunteers twice a year — helping us track what’s living there and adding valuable data to a global project tackling biodiversity loss along built coastlines.
Interested in volunteering with us from surveying and coastal cleans to event support we have something for everyone! Visit here for more info: Volunteer With Us – Plymouth Sound National Marine Park