Photo by Julia Watt
Atwater Beach staircase
The staircase down Atwater Beach's restored bluff.
In 2010, a series of torrential rain and tornado events swept through Southeastern Wisconsin. Much like this August’s downpour, the storms resulted in devastating flash flooding, severe property damage, city services breakdowns and at least one death. Shorewood residents keenly remember the erosion of Atwater Beach’s dunes and collapse of the Atwater bluff. Over a decade later, the bluff and dune area is a flourishing shoreline ecology inhabited by native plants and migratory species, now something of a poster child for Third Coast environmental activism.
Since reconstruction in 2011, the work to restore Atwater Beach has been a combined effort between staff and volunteers of coastal advocacy network, the Surfrider Foundation, and local ecological design-build firm, Marek Landscaping. The organizations are each environmental stewards in their own right, though joining forces has proven to be a winning combination.
Surfing for the Environment
Photo courtesy Marek Landscaping
Dunegrass - Atwater Beach
A volunteer tends a freshly planted pine.
Surfrider’s activism began with a grassroots group of surfers in 1984, motivated by environmental threats to their beloved surf spots in Malibu, California. Since its inception, the environmental group has founded approximately 200 chapters across the United States and Puerto Rico, fighting for plastic reduction, ocean protection, beach access, coastal climate action and clean water.
“Surfrider offers a wide range of programs, and every chapter focuses on what matters most to their community and local coast,” says Carla Avila-Martinez. As a climate action program manager for Surfrider, Avila-Martinez works to support Surfrider chapters to develop, launch, and run local restoration projects. “Many locations we work in already have robust projects in place, so we want to enhance those existing efforts,” she furthers. She expresses that while the work varies from chapter to chapter, connecting with Great Lakes beach activists was a natural fit ecologically and recreationally—plenty of surfers hit Lake Michigan’s waves, too.
Unique Challenges
Mike Marek, president and founder of Marek Landscaping, first encountered Surfrider’s Milwaukee chapter at a “Surf Atwater” event. Originally from Elm Grove, Marek’s interest in Great Lakes surfing is fueled by the interconnectedness of fellow freshwater surfers, as well as the unique challenge of surfing in winter conditions. He describes melting ice off wetsuit zippers with a thermos of hot water … somehow, with a smile.
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Photo courtesy Marek Landscaping
Surfrider Foundation and Marek Landscaping volunteers
Professionals and volunteers from both Surfrider and Marek Landscaping.
Marek Landscaping joined forces with Miller Engineers & Scientists to respond to the Village of Shorewood’s Request for Proposal (RFP) for Atwater’s restoration. Many RFP responses came from various multi-national engineering firms. Marek and Miller’s proposal, however, stood out: instead of installing heavy stone revetments, which could lead to more coastline erosion just south of Atwater, they would implement a living shoreline solution. This would be replete with dune grasses and woody pines, mimicking the area’s natural coastline and strengthening its long-term resilience against erosion. “We really can’t go wrong by mimicking nature,” Marek affirms.
Tending the Shoreline
Surfrider was a natural support network for the restoration efforts given their existing programming on Atwater Beach, such as the “Surf Atwater” event that first called Marek to the organization. After the initial work in 2011, over forty volunteers and professionals from both organizations have returned to do the hard labor of cleaning the beach, removing invasive species, planting natives and returning periodically to tend the landscape. The Atwater Beach has since bounced back tremendously. “We’re in a really critical place on the planet for migratory species,” Marek states, “and that’s one of the coolest things about this work — getting to support monarchs, dragonflies, raptors and more in their migration.”
Photo courtesy Marek Landscaping
fiery skippers and milkweed tussock moths
A pair of tiny Fiery Skippers and Milkweed Tussock Moths lounge on native plants at Atwater Beach.
While the bulk of this volunteer work took place in 2023, the Atwater restoration project has received renewed attention thanks to Surfrider’s 2025 State of the Beach Report. An ongoing publication, the report features case studies and updated numbers highlighting successes in Surfrider’s action areas. It also aims to present clear actions that communities can take to replicate these successes rather than fueling climate doom. “One of the biggest takeaways from this year’s report is that nature-based solutions really work,” says Avila-Martinez. Marek echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that bio-mimicry not only preserves beautiful shorelines, but saves millions of dollars in environmental damages. Publications like the State of the Beach Report also draw attention from local government entities, re-asserting the importance of advocating for coastal resilience—“it’s in everybody’s best interest,” Marek says
Avila-Martinez calls Atwater Beach an exemplary success story. Surfrider’s Milwaukee Chapter is in the process of developing a restoration project with the Friends of Shorewood Nature Preserve, hoping to expand their habitat restoration work modeled at Atwater across the broader Wisconsin coastline. Marek is excited to be part of the wave of Lake Michigan restoration efforts, expressing that the work of restoration is a truly rewarding experience. “We sit on 20% of the word’s freshwater. It’s an honor and a responsibility to steward that.”
