VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — As the saying goes, things tend to last longer if they’re taken care of.
The same train of thought applies to places, too.
That's why Virginia Beach resident Meagan Keith decided to volunteer on an early morning this October to help restore a piece of land usually unseen by the general public.
"It's part of your community, part of your lifestyle. If you live in Virginia Beach, you’ve got a beach," she said.
This October, the National Aquarium in Baltimore partnered with Naval Air Station Oceana to coordinate a sand dune stabilization event to help restore and rebuild a stretch of shoreline under NAS Oceana's control.
Michael Wright, the natural resources manager for NAS Oceana, said that even the land used by the men and women who protect this country needs protection itself.
"This wasn’t here," pointing to a portion of dunes she last visited in 2012. "It’s built up over time and re-vegetated based on plants we put there.”
This October's sand dune stabilization, involving the re-planting of native plants along the shore below Croatan Beach, is the latest chapter in a decades-long effort to stabilize and build back up the natural barrier between military land and the Atlantic Ocean.
Since the partnership began in the early 2000s, Wright said the size of the dunes has grown, signaling the seeds of their work from years prior are coming to fruition.
"You could walk out 10 feet, and you’re in the ocean," Wright spoke of previous conditions.
"There was no dune in the mid-1990s," she added.
Wright notes the dunes and their continued growth are critical for two reasons: protecting Virginia Beach’s local wildlife but also protecting military training grounds which run the risk of being negatively impacted by ocean waters if there aren't efforts to maintain and upkeep the dunes.
“We have sea-to-land training on our dunes. If these dunes aren’t here, there isn’t a place to train or get advanced certifications," Wright said.
Since 2004, officials with the National Aquarium said they've coordinated one per year, on average, but have also worked at Fort Story, Langley and Breezy Point.