Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

Nature-Based Solutions Case Study Search

This database contains over 400 implementations of nature-based solutions. Use the filters to identify the case studies most relevant to you.

While all cases here exemplify applications of NBS strategies, they were gathered from various sources and not all were written using the framing of nature-based solutions. To qualify as a nature-based solution, a project must provide benefits to both people and nature. In some instances, the human benefits are present but not emphasized in the case write ups; these cases were included because they still provide useful information to learn from.

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Camden County, New Jersey frequently experiences combined sewer flooding during intense rain events. Camden SMART Initiative, a partnership of local government, state environmental agency, local universities and local nonprofits, promotes a network of green infrastructure programs and projects throughout the county. Projects like urban greening, rain gardens and stream daylighting were implemented. 

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The Commercial Township Salt Hay Farm, in the southern portion of the Delaware Bay, is being restored through the Estuary Enhancement Program. The diked marsh was degraded and subsided from sedimentation, soil compaction, and soil oxidation. This project uses thin-layer placement to increase marsh elevation and restore marsh function. 

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Long Beach Island, NJ is a barrier island that is heavily impacted by coastal storms and hurricanes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection created berms and dunes along the island with sand from an offshore borrow source to reduce flooding, erosion, and storm impacts on the island’s communities. 

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The New Jersey DOT implemented nature-based solutions to stabilize approximately 1 mile of eroding marsh banks, addressing boat wake concerns from the replacement of the Route 52 causeway near Ocean City, NJ. The design included shoreline regrading using onsite material, coir fascine edging to stabilize the marsh toe, and planting Spartina alterniflora landward of the coir fascine.

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Mordecai Island in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey suffered an erosional cut that separated off a portion of the island. This project filled in said cut and restored coastal habitat on the island with dredged materials from the NJ Intracoastal Waterway. This island protects local communities from storm and sea-level rise impacts. 

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The Mount Rose Preserve Forest Restoration Project aimed to (1) re-establish the forest, shrubland, and meadow habitats, (2) innovate and communicate locally appropriate forest restoration practices, and (3) restore existing plant species through the exclusion of white-tailed deer and invasive plant species.

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The Seaview community on Shark River Island in Neptune, New Jersey was experiencing flooding, erosion, and experienced damage from Hurricane Sandy. A failing bulkhead on the shoreline led to severe marsh erosion. The homeowner’s association decided on a hybrid living shoreline made of ECOncrete to protect their community. 

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Cape May, New Jersey is increasingly vulnerable to flooding and erosion from coastal storms. This project replenished the beach and restored dune and freshwater wetland habitats. This project resulted in restoration of over 460 acres of coastal habitat, and increased resiliency of the Cape May community. 

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Sylvan lake is one of a series nine "coastal lakes" which historically discharged into the Atlantic Ocean, yet was degraded by polluted discharges from upstream watershed. This project aimed to convert hard retaining wall into a 368-meter living shoreline in order to improve the water quality and reinstate the physical condition or the lake.

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Teaneck Creek Park is a low-lying area in a highly urbanized neighborhood of North New Jersey. During storm and rain events, this area experienced flooding, erosion, and produced untreated runoff that degraded Teaneck Creek. This project restored 8 hectares of wetland habitat to mitigate these negative outcomes. 

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The highly urbanized Rahway River watershed in New Jersey suffers from frequent flooding due to extensive development and destruction of riparian wetlands and floodplains. A diverse group of stakeholders worked together to restore a 1.8 ha site on the floodplain to riparian wetland.

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