Beach erosion caused by Sandy

NEW LONDON, Conn. (WTNH) -- The entrance to Mitchell College's beach shows where super storm Sandy came ashore. Her powerful waves ignored a sign to please keep the beach clean and changed the shape of the shoreline.

Some are already at work trying to restore their beaches to the way they once were. Mitchell College did the same after Tropical Storm Irene, planting 5,000 plugs of dune grass, a natural classroom.

"The students have been keeping this up for a long time. I mean they went down there, they made a major effort. You can see the fence up there," Walt Williams of New London said.

But much of that work has now been washed away.

Catastrophe is one of the words that is being used by folks here at Mitchell College to describe what has happened here. News 8 was told the dunes used to stand about twelve feet tall and now two thirds have been washed away. We're told that Sandy took away more than Irene ever did.

Walt Williams who usually walks Rusty along the beach hasn't done it since the storm because of things like brand new sea glass.

"Something that he might eat that wouldn't be healthy for him. His paws could be cut. You could have broken glass or you could have shards of wood," Williams said.

He's just as concerned about what may have washed up on shore as what has been washed away.