Using invasive wetland grasses, Northeastern grads adopt a green approach to stop erosion

by Cynthia McCormick Hibbert

August 20, 2025

Kayla Sklar, a Northeastern alum, works with Emerald Tutu lead Gabriel Cira to grow native wetlands grasses on beds formed from invasive species. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

A couple of Northeastern University grads are twisting — literally — an invasive wetland grass into a coastal restoration hero.

Kayla Sklar and Anja Clark spend part of their day cutting down tall, plumed phragmites and bundling them into rods and other shapes to serve as bedding material on which they plant native spartina grasses.

Once rooted, the spartina helps protect the shoreline from erosion and wave action and serves as a habitat for native flora and fauna.

The endeavor is part of a coastal restoration project known as the Emerald Tutu, which uses culled invasive biomass as the substrate for native restoration and shoreline stabilization.

“It’s just a lot of problem-solving, working outside,” says Sklar, who graduated from Northeastern in 2022 with a degree in environmental science with a marine concentration.

“After I graduated, I learned about this project,” says Sklar, a nature-based infrastructure ecological engineer.

A Northeastern student wearing sunglasses carries a large bundle of dried marsh grasses through a sunlit, tree-lined path as part of a nature-based coastal restoration project in Boston. — 07/16/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Anja Clark, a masters student in environmental science and policy at Northeastern, Kayla Sklar, an environmental scientist and Northeastern alumnus, along with Emerald Tutu lead Gabriel Cira are working to restore Boston coastlines with nature based infrastructure on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Close-up of a bundle of long green and tan reeds gathered for environmental restoration work, part of a Northeastern University project to restore Boston coastlines using nature-based infrastructure. — 07/16/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Anja Clark, a masters student in environmental science and policy at Northeastern, Kayla Sklar, an environmental scientist and Northeastern alumnus, along with Emerald Tutu lead Gabriel Cira are working to restore Boston coastlines with nature based infrastructure on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

“I thought what they were doing with the coastal protection aspects of ecological restoration was really cool, and I started working for them, making these prototypes,” she says.

The phragmites bundles can be as long as 10 feet and are anchored to the shoreline with stakes and sometimes heavy rocks. The tidal flow of saltwater soaks them like sponges, which — the theory goes — makes them an excellent platform or bed on which to grow native spartina grasses.

About two dozen of these prototype plant beds are located along shorelines, including sites in East Boston.

“We’re working on experimental design” and tracking how well the prototypes for the Emerald Tutu are performing, says Anja Clark, Emerald Tutu project assistant.

She’s a 2025 graduate who majored in environmental science and landscape architecture and did a PlusOne in environmental science and policy.

A woman stands inside a repurposed shipping container filled with tools and equipment. She appears to be organizing materials related to environmental work. The container is partially open, revealing recycling bins, coiled hoses, and supplies. The surrounding area looks industrial and functional, suggesting a fieldwork setting. Text over the image describes a coastal restoration project in Boston involving students and alumni from Northeastern University. — 07/16/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Anja Clark, a masters student in environmental science and policy at Northeastern, Kayla Sklar, an environmental scientist and Northeastern alumnus, along with Emerald Tutu lead Gabriel Cira are working to restore Boston coastlines with nature based infrastructure on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Two people hold a green, net-like rope structure outdoors in front of a vivid, colorful background. The image represents a project by Anja Clark, Kayla Sklar, and Gabriel Cira focused on restoring Boston’s coastline through nature-based infrastructure. — 07/16/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Anja Clark, a masters student in environmental science and policy at Northeastern, Kayla Sklar, an environmental scientist and Northeastern alumnus, along with Emerald Tutu lead Gabriel Cira are working to restore Boston coastlines with nature based infrastructure on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Last fall, Clark also taught herself thatching and how to create a sculpture out of phragmites. It collapsed during a storm but has since become home to a family of ducks in East Boston by Chelsea Creek.

The art installation is part of the process of experimenting with using natural materials or biomass to throw up a bulwark against coastal erosion in place of materials like the rusted seawall at Chelsea Creek.

“I probably would have gone to art school if I didn’t really care about the climate crisis,” Clark says. “So it’s been really special to be part of this.”

The Emerald Tutu concept started about five to six years ago with the idea of creating floating circular mats that could form concentric rings or half-circles along shorelines to break up wave energy.

Two people walk along a rocky shoreline in East Boston carrying bundles of phragmites reeds for floating wetland prototypes. One wears a blue T-shirt and cap, the other wears a white shirt and black shorts. In the background, boats move across the harbor with city buildings and a tall monument visible under a partly cloudy sky. — 07/18/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Kayla Sklar, an environmental scientist and Northeastern alumnus and Emerald Tutu lead Gabriel Cira set up phragmite reed prototypes of floating wetlands in East Boston on Friday, July 18, 2025. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Overhead view of Kayla Sklar and Gabriel Cira kneeling on a rocky shoreline in East Boston, securing a large mat made of woven phragmites reeds. Both wear gloves and are focused on installing the floating wetland prototype along the water’s edge. — 07/18/25 – BOSTON, MA. – Kayla Sklar, an environmental scientist and Northeastern alumnus and Emerald Tutu lead Gabriel Cira set up phragmite reed prototypes of floating wetlands in East Boston on Friday, July 18, 2025. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

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But the mats tended to shift under the weight of wetlands grasses growing on top and masses of algae below, says Gabriel Cira, Emerald Tutu project lead.

In addition, having to use kayaks to check their progress was less convenient than monitoring and maintaining living shoreline bundles planted along the coast, he says.

“The idea of the Emerald Tutu is just a placeholder for regreening the coastlines using a whole spectrum of techniques and approaches,” Cira says.

“The important distinction between (human-made) gray infrastructure and nature-based infrastructure is that gray infrastructure is strongest on day one and then weakens over time,” he says.

“The opposite is true for nature-based infrastructure,” Cira says. “It’s weakest when you first install it. But as those native marsh grass plants grow denser and denser, as their rhizomes expand and connect and anchor everything together, it just gets stronger and stronger.”

Near the Emerald Tutu’s work yard headquarters by Chelsea Creek, the scientists are growing spartina seedlings in a drainage tank basin.

Once planted into bundles of phragmites grasses or reeds, the challenge is keeping the biomass from floating away, hence the need for stakes or heavy rocks until the entire bundle becomes fully waterlogged and stays rooted in place, Sklar says.