Ken Thompson Park Living Shoreline

Ken Thompson Park is a 92-acre waterfront park that provides recreational opportunities, with boardwalks through mangroves, tidal marsh restoration areas, and a beach. The park is located west of Sarasota Bay on City Island and approximately 0.6 miles from the John Ringling Parkway.

Unfortunately, the beach shoreline is being lost due to erosion, wind and wave action, exposing tree roots and undermining the foundation of the large stone monument. The City of Sarasota contracted EAP to develop a living shoreline design to mitigate this problem.

Living shorelines are a way of managing coastal areas to protect, restore, or enhance the habitat. This is done using native plants, stone, sand, and other materials.  Living shorelines provide a natural alternative to ‘hard’ shoreline stabilization methods and provide numerous benefits including nutrient pollution remediation, essential fish habitat structure, and buffering of shorelines from waves and storms.  

The project involved developing protection for the existing beach and park using a “livable shoreline” against erosion and loss of habitat.  EAP provided a living shoreline design specifically for the park with minimal “hard” structures. The living shoreline will stem shoreline and beach loss using primarily native vegetation with limestone riprap and geotextile fabric.  The native vegetation will provide habitats for birds, and fish and invertebrates in the intertidal zone, and simultaneously protect the beach and park shoreline.