Under a fresh plot of dirt along the San Francisco Bay, a revolutionary new way to address climate change is taking shape in Palo Alto.
Young native plants are taking root in the soil, which sits atop a layer of wood chips, a layer of sand and a layer of gravel. Treated water from a nearby wastewater plant will soon trickle through it all, irrigating the plants while getting extra filtering before going into the bay.
This so-called living levee is designed to grow in elevation as plants die off and sediment settles, adjusting to rising seas and protecting the shoreline from big storms. It can be used in conjunction with conventional seawalls, which don’t integrate into the habitat and may eventually be overtopped…