David Cottrell was a cranberry farmer on a mission to save his coastal hometown from being swallowed by the sea. For over 50 years, he watched helplessly as the shoreline of North Cove, Washington, crumbled, threatening to wipe out family farms, homes, and a vital highway.
When local politicians and corporations didn't step up, Cottrell refused to sit back and let his community wash away. In 2016, he took matters into his own hands, dumping truckloads of basalt cobble along the beach in a DIY attempt to halt the erosion.
To everyone's surprise, his idea worked, according to Wired.
By using natural materials to absorb wave energy, Cottrell accidentally rediscovered an Indigenous erosion-control method. His success sparked a grassroots movement as locals, volunteers, and engineers banded together to spread his technique along two miles of coastline, the outlet reported.
"He never tried to take credit for it, but David contributed this thing of immense benefit, basically saving the community," according to coastal engineer George Kaminsky in an interview with Wired.
Cottrell's innovative approach doesn't just protect the land. By restoring beaches, it's reviving entire ecosystems and providing critical habitat for coastal plants and wildlife. And it does it at a fraction of the cost of typical heavy-handed engineering projects.
While Cottrell sadly passed away in 2023 due to a biking accident, his legacy lives on as a shining example of the power of community action.
"The people that get this best are surfers and Buddhists," he once mused to High Country News, as reported by Wired. "In a situation that's in constant flux, what you want to do is position yourself to go with it."
He shared a similar sentiment with the Guardian in 2022, which was reshared by Wired: "[The shoreline] can take care of itself, but you never quite want to turn your back on it."
Thanks to one farmer's determination, North Cove is riding the waves of change. Cottrell's story proves that by working with nature, we have the power to turn the tide.
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