Blog

This article was posted today on the Borough of Avalon web site www.avalonboro.org :

BEACH FILL, PART TWO: AVALON’S PROJECT STARTS AGAIN AT 11TH STREET
Avalon to receive 600,000 cubic yards of sand for its beachfront from 9th-26th Streets

(Avalon, NJ)—Avalon officials learned early Monday morning that a major emergency beach fill project in the community is again underway. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company informed Avalon that it completed Sea Isle City’s portion of the joint beach fill project late Sunday evening, and the dredge was being moved to Avalon Monday morning to complete Avalon’s beach fill. The dredge will begin pumping sand onto Avalon’s 11th Street beach Monday morning, June 14th, and continue to move south over the next two weeks.

Great Lakes had mobilized two dredges, the “Alaska” and the “Illinois”, to conduct this major beach fill project. The “Alaska” suffered a major mechanical malfunction during the early stages of Avalon’s beach fill and had to be taken to Virginia for repairs. The “Illinois” completed Sea Isle City’s beach fill project on June 13th, and will now finish the replenishment effort in Avalon.

The completion date for the entire project included in the contract with Great Lakes is July 1st. The beach fill in Avalon is expected to be completed several days before that deadline. A similar beach fill project conducted in Avalon in 2008 was completed on June 30th, still in advance of the busiest weekend of the summer.

Avalon will receive 600,000 cubic yards of sand on the Borough’s beachfront from 9th Street south to 26th Street. Avalon received permit modifications and was able to increase the volume of sand being placed on our local beaches by 100,000 cubic yards. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has agreed to reimburse Avalon for 75 percent of the costs associated with the emergency beach fill project.

Updates on Avalon’s beach fill are available at www.avalonboro.org.

The barrier islands- and the individual beach towns- along the South Jersey coast share the same basic amenities: white sand beaches, the ocean, and back bays.

So what attracts visitors and buyers to a specific location?

It can be as simple as following a tradition from their childhood. If your family vacationed in Stone Harbor every year, it will likely be your first thought for a summer rental.   We tend to stay within our comfort zone…do you know others who live in town?  Will your kids be able to make friends?  Can they get summer jobs? 

I spent last weekend in Margate (with Lucy The Elephant…and my sisters), and walked around Longport (a variety of beautiful homes to admire).  Interesting to compare the beach communities.

A seashore flag of shells in the front yard of an Avalon home.

Saw this video last year, and loved it.  Filmed in Stone Harbor, too  🙂

http://www.vimeo.com/6172561

Credits:  Justin Gaynor  justingaynor.com & Genevieve Faust genevievefaust.com

Simple suggestions to “go green” while at the shore:

Collect sea glass from the beach (turn trash into treasure).  Ride your bike to Kohler’s Bakery (and work off those cream donut calories).  Order your Springer’s ice cream in a cone (no wasteful plastic cup or spoon).  Walk to town for dinner.  Keep cool under an umbrella on the beach (rather than in air conditioning).   Follow the local recycling requirements.  Enjoy the bay on a sail boat or kayak- free fuel!

Has the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico affected my view of our surrounding waterways?  Absolutely. 

When you are raised at the shore, you become an environmentalist by default.  The ocean and back bays are as much our “home” as the 4 wall structure where we sleep.

I don’t believe I have ever taken the natural beauty for granted (well, maybe as a kid when we “had to go to the beach again”- and preferred to crash the pool at the Concord!)

Yet lately, my attention is especially drawn to the clear greens and blues of the water.  It makes me sick to imagine a different view.