What's the best way to stop dirt from flowing down onto the embankment and onto the beach sand? The lawn has a long slope downward and the soil before the embankment is very poor and nothing will grow. The embankment is marl and just a few weeds grow. There is no root structure there or at the top of the embankment to hold back or absorb the water flow. At the high water mark in 1988, the water level came close to the top of the embankment and as the water receded over the years, waves washed away the soil. I'm not sure if there was ever any soil there or always was marl.

Top of embankment: Should we remove the poor soil, add good topsoil and plantings or sod to make it a barrier?

Marl embankment: What grows in it that would establish a good root structure and stop erosion. I haven't looked up the present few plants to see if they are weeds or wild flowers.

We thought about putting a wooden barrier across the top of the embankment to try to funnel the water away from the beech, but would rather do something with natural materials. Since we are seasonal, we would have to rely on Mother Nature to water new plantings when we're not here after summer.

I have sent some pics of our situation.

Thanks