LA Is Growing Its Beaches Back—And They're Thanking You for It

If you’ve driven past Santa Monica Beach lately and spotted what looks like someone’s meticulously landscaped garden project right on the sand, you’re not crazy—and no, it’s not a real estate development. What you’re seeing is The Bay Foundation’s ambitious effort to bring back something LA lost decades ago: actual coastal dunes.

The organization has already restored 8 acres of natural dunes along Santa Monica’s shoreline, with another 30 acres approved all the way down to Venice Beach. Tom Ford, the nonprofit’s leader, has been working overtime to make sure locals understand the message: Your beach is still your beach, only better.

Here’s the why: LA County used to be carpeted in vegetated sand dunes. Then we paved over most of them. Now, as storms get worse and sea levels rise, those missing dunes are looking like a genuinely smart piece of infrastructure. Native plants like Sea Cliff Buckwheat catch wind-blown sand, which builds up and creates higher dunes. Those taller dunes absorb wave energy during storms, slow erosion, and protect the coastal real estate behind them—all without the rigid, one-dimensional protection of a seawall. Unlike seawalls, which only shield what’s directly behind them, natural dunes protect what’s in front of them too. And what’s in front is what makes LA famous.

The ecosystem benefits matter just as much. Those same plants support endangered species like El Segundo blue butterflies. The restoration isn’t just sand and dirt—it’s a functional habitat woven back into the landscape. Ford has worked closely with lifeguards, police, and sports groups to make sure the restoration doesn’t eat into the activities that define LA’s beach culture. The roped-off patches are temporary and strategic, designed to establish the plants. Once they take root and the dune builds, the beach opens back up.

This is what climate adaptation can look like when it stops treating nature as an obstacle and starts treating it as a solution. LA’s beaches have been shrinking and eroding for generations. Now, instead of fighting that with concrete and steel, The Bay Foundation is literally growing the coastline back. It won’t solve everything, but it’s a reminder that sometimes the old way—before we stripped everything bare—might’ve been onto something.