Posted on September 11, 2026
A lifelong Ocean City visitor reminds us that beach nourishment is about more than protecting shorelines. It’s about protecting memories.
For many beachgoers, a beach nourishment project is something they happen upon during a vacation.
For Jeffrey Harrison, it’s something he eagerly follows all year long.
Jeffrey, 31, has been fascinated by beach nourishment and dredging projects for years. A longtime visitor to Ocean City, New Jersey, he closely tracks GLDD’s work online, follows project updates, and even uses vessel tracking tools to see where our dredges are working around the country.
His connection to the work began long before social media and vessel tracking apps.
When Jeffrey’s mother, Gail Harrison, recently reached out to GLDD, she shared a photograph from 2015 showing Jeffrey watching one of our beach nourishment projects along the Ocean City shoreline. More than a decade later, his enthusiasm remains as strong as ever.
For the Harrison family, Ocean City is more than a vacation destination. The family has spent more than 50 years vacationing there, creating cherished memories along the beach. One of Jeffrey’s favorite traditions is watching work along the shoreline and following the progress of projects that help preserve the beaches he loves.
As Gail shared in her note to GLDD, Jeffrey was especially excited to learn that he would arrive in Ocean City while the Peck Beach nourishment project was still underway.
That excitement inspired a special visit with members of the GLDD project team.
During his visit, Jeffrey and his family toured the project site, met members of the crew, and saw firsthand the work he has followed so closely for years. Wearing a GLDD shirt, hard hat, and safety vest, Jeffrey experienced the project from a perspective few beachgoers ever have the opportunity to see.
But what makes Jeffrey’s story particularly meaningful is not simply his enthusiasm for dredging.
It’s the reminder that every beach nourishment project is ultimately about people.
Beach nourishment projects help protect communities from erosion and storms, strengthen coastal resilience, and preserve beaches for future generations. They also help protect the places where families gather, traditions continue, and lifelong memories are made.
For Jeffrey and his family, those memories stretch back decades.
Today, Jeffrey remains in touch with members of the project team and continues to follow GLDD’s work with the same enthusiasm that first inspired him to watch a dredging project from the beach more than a decade ago.
We’re honored to have supporters like Jeffrey who remind us why our work matters.
After all, every project is about more than moving sand.
It’s about protecting the places people love.
