Casey Stevens, left, and Seth Remer, members of the Superior Watershed Partnership’s Great Lakes Climate Corps, take part in a habitat-improvement project Friday at McCarty’s Cove in Marquette. The day’s activities were to include pulling invasive vegetation and planting native beach grass. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

MARQUETTE — Why would you pull out plants with pretty yellow blooms and plant grass instead?

Because it’s not just any grass — it’s beach grass, the long roots of which keep sand from blowing away and keep the lakeshore from eroding.

Pulling invasive plants such as common tansy — the plant with yellow blooms — and putting in native beach grass and performing a little cleanup work was the goal of Friday’s coastal restoration and climate change mitigation event at McCarty’s Cove in Marquette.

The Superior Watershed Partnership and its Great Lakes Climate Corps led Friday’s activities.

Kathleen Henry, education specialist and special projects coordinator with the SWP, oversaw the McCarty’s Cove project.

“Beach grass is helpful in the restoration of our lakeshore,” Henry said. “It kind of holds the sand together and helps prevent erosion.”

SWP has been planting beach grass along the Lake Superior shoreline for some time now.

“Especially with the more severe weather events that have been happening, it really holds the beach together,” she said.

GLCC member Casey Stevens spent time pulling out tansy on Friday.

“It spreads really fast,” Stevens said. “The roots underground are really connected.”

Henry said the public can help with the different restoration events the SWP and GLCC have scheduled for the summer. The plan is to hold them on the second Friday of the month, with the specifics to be announced beforehand.

“It’s just a way to stay active and engaged,” Henry said. “Obviously, we all love to utilize and come out and swim in the lake and be walking on the beach.

“We’re just asking that everyone kind of takes part.”