When Hurricane Sandy hit about this time last year, nearly everyone in New Jersey was effected in one way or another. I remember it was just around the time of the USSBA marching band state championships. Many schools dropped out that competition because their schools and the students attending the schools suffered greatly from the storm. The damage covered South to North Jersey. But, the coastal areas suffered the most. I realized the extent of coastal damage when I went to visit Ortley Beach near Toms River in April of this year. More than six months later, the town was still torn to shreds. Houses were collapsed in on each other and debris still littered the streets. Now, almost a year later in Atlantic City, I got to see more damage first hand with the Stockton Day of Service. Our mission in this year’s day of service was to rebuild the dunes along Maine Street in Atlantic City. And, the damage was not pretty. There were empty lots surrounding the washed away dunes where high end houses were previously standing. Where the houses were still standing, the garage doors were covered over with plywood. Townhouses right on the water’s edge were brick shells, and many other bricks littered the sand around them. But what really struck me was the concrete skeleton of the collapsed and missing boardwalk. This area was hit hard.

During the course of our day, forty-some students and I planted 2,000 dune grass plants, cleared the sand of big chunks of debris, and removed sand from the street. This would hopefully rebuild the sand dune ecosystem in that area and help keep sand in place next to the bulkhead lining the shore. This was the first small step to reviving that area. But, the impact was immediate. We were greeted by the security officers working in the resort next to where we were working. They thanked us profusely and said that what we were doing meant so much to them. Hearing those words made everyone appreciate what we were doing so much more. Later in the day, I had the privilege of talking to an AC municipal worker who was assigned to supervise us. He had grown up in Atlantic City and seen it go through many storms. Hurricane Sandy seemed to effect him the most. He told that when the storm hit, the street we were on was flooded six feet high with mattresses and wood floating by. Houses were completely washed out. He said he saw the boardwalk floating by. This man had to watch his home be torn apart. And, here we are nearly a year later trying to sort through the mess. Things like these do not go away overnight, though they may fade from our thoughts when we are not presented with the problem everyday. Doing a small thing like rebuilding a dune really opened my eyes to see the bigger problem, but it also showed me that that small thing can make a big difference to someone living with this problem everyday.