MADELINE SHAW / INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS – Against a lush carpet of marsh grasses, the five-and-a-half acre island of muddy sediment, shallow pools and tufts of straggly vegetation stood out like a sore thumb.

It wasn’t enough to catch the eye of young visitors to The Wetlands Institute, who were far more interested in the diamondback terrapin enclosure that was the centerpiece of “Totally Turtle Tuesday.” To the scientists studying it, however, this patch—known as the Scotch Bonnet Island enhancement project—is far more interesting. It’s an ongoing experiment in saving critically important marsh ecosystems from drowning in a relentlessly rising tide …