Still water surrounded by spruce trees and fall coloured broad-leaf trees, lined by boulders — Call for Homeowners: Green Shores for Homes

Call for interested homeowners along lakeshores and coastlines in three underserved regions to implement projects that minimize erosion and flooding

What is Green Shores for Homes?

Green Shores for Homes (GSH) is a voluntary, incentive-based rating program focused on promoting positive steps that reduce the impact of residential developments on shoreline ecosystems. GSH helps waterfront homeowners restore natural shorelines and enjoy the many recreational scenic, environmental, and shoreline protection benefits they bring.

More info on Green Shores for Homes

Cover page of the Green Shores for Homes Credits and Ratings Guide — A program of the Stewardship Centre for British Columbia, Green Shores is a solution to address issues such as shoreline erosion, sea level rise, and resilient climate change adaptation. Green Shores projects provide long-term environmental and societal benefits and promote more sustainable and resilient shoreline management through nature-based solutions.

Call for Homeowners

Experiencing erosion or flooding on your coastal or lakefront property? Hard armouring (seawalls, riprap, bulkheads, etc.) is often the default response to these issues, but hard structures can be expensive and make the issue worse over time. The GSH program offers nature-based and hybrid alternatives that minimize impacts, restore shoreline habitat and function, and are often less expensive to build and maintain.

TransCoastal Adaptations is seeking FIVE shoreline homeowners from underserved areas around Nova Scotia to participate in the expansion of the GSH program in the Maritimes. Five homeowners from the following regions will qualify for FREE SHORELINE ASSESSMENTS that they can use to inform their shoreline designs using the Green Shores framework. Information will be gathered by the TransCoastal Adaptations team on a visit to the property. The assessment document will offer recommendations for types of shoreline interventions that the homeowner can share with their hired contractors to cut back on the costs of design. The assessment will also outline how the homeowner and their contractors can maximize the shoreline design to achieve the highest Green Shores rating possible for the property.

Target community areas:

Does your Shoreline Meet the Criteria?

The criteria outlined below provide an insight into the best-case scenario for a Green Shores project, i.e., projects that are more likely to be effective at a single-property scale. Projects that don’t meet all of the criteria will still be considered for selection, however, criteria 1 and 2 are required.

Criteria listed In order of importance:

The property is on a coast or lakeshore, it cannot be along a river unless it’s at the junction of river and lake/ocean
The homeowner is willing to allow TransCoastal Adaptations to:
a. Visit for a site assessment and
b. Use the shoreline project as a (written) case study
The property is experiencing some erosion and/or flooding along the shoreline
The shoreline slope is gradual - less than a 12% grade or 6.25 degrees
The shoreline has an average fetch (distance over water undisturbed by land) of less than 8 kilometers
The tidal range onsite is small (less than 2.7 meters)
Softer and smaller sediment shorelines (sand, marsh, mud, soil, cobble) are preferred

Further explanation of the criteria is offered in the photos below:

Hover over each image for instructions on how to measure your shoreline to match the criteria mentioned above.

How to determine the slope of your shoreline

Many cellphone apps exist that can determine the slope of the shoreline by laying your phone on the slope (this will usually give slope in degrees). If that is not accessible to you, you can also calculate the slope by dividing the amount of elevation change by the amount of horizontal distance covered and then multiplying the result by 100 (this will give the slope in percentage).

Measuring the average fetch distance

To find the average fetch, measure the distance from your shoreline directly out from the shore until you hit land again. Take 5 of these measurements across your shoreline at different angles and find the average by dividing the sum of your results by the number of measurements you took. Fetch is easily measured using the measurement tool on Google Earth

Finding the tide range on your shoreline

If you don’t already know the tide range on your property, you can measure this by the horizontal distance between high tide and low tide. Mark high tide, then measure the distance between your mark and the water at low tide.

Different sediment types on NS shorelines

Interested in this opportunity? Fill out the form below to apply!

If you are not sure whether your shoreline would qualify, send an application anyway! Another call for five more homeowners will be going out again next year, so if you don’t end up being selected in this round, there may still be an opportunity for a free assessment in the next round.

Name

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Last Name

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Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

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About your Shoreline

Tell us a bit more about your shoreline and why you want to apply for a FREE shoreline assessment:

What Criteria does your Shoreline Meet?

Check off as many as apply! Even if your shoreline doesn't meet all the criteria as stated, your shoreline will still be considered!

Along a coast or lakeshore within target community

Willing to allow site visit and case study

Experiencing erosion and/or flooding

Gradual shoreline slope

Average fetch of less than 8km

Small tidal range

Softer sediment type shoreline

Funding and Support

This project is supported by the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund, delivered by the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities on behalf of the Province of Nova Scotia.