We protect ourselves from the sea in many ways: with dunes, dykes and flood defences. But how effective are these as sea levels continue to rise? NIOZ researchers explore how we can work with nature keep our coasts safe while maintaining healthy ecosystems. These nature-based solutions draw on natural processes to restore marine ecosystems and their health, for example by having saltmarshes outside of dykes, using seagrass meadows together with aquaculture of bivalves, or by creating artificial reefs from biomaterials.