On a chilly early morning in March, two groups of Associate in Arts Program students joined forces with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and other volunteers to help tackle a critical environmental issue: beach erosion.

The students, along with approximately 800 other volunteers who had gathered at sites along the coastline in Kent and Sussex counties, spent the morning planting

Cape American beach grass at two locations: Indian River Inlet, located within Delaware Seashore State Park in the Bethany area, and Bowers Beach in Dover.

According to DNREC, the grass plays a crucial role in protecting the shoreline by trapping wind-blown sand and forming dunes, which act as natural barriers against coastal erosion. The plant’s extensive root system also helps stabilize dunes, preventing them from shifting during storms and high tides.

With the exception of two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, the department has held its Beach Grass Planting each year since 1990. AAP students have participated in each event since 2015 in groups led by Christine Grogan, associate professor of English at the AAP’s Dover campus, and Erin Tanner, College of Arts and Sciences communications specialist for the AAP — contributing to the nearly 5 million stems of beach grass that have been planted to date.​

​AAP alumnus Trevor Roe, a 2021 UD computer engineering grad now working as an IT specialist in Sussex County, participated in the event as a student in 2018 and looks back on it as one of his most memorable experiences at the AAP. “It really made me feel connected to my local community,” Roe said. ​