PLUM ISLAND — The Plum Island Foundation will honor Tendercrop Farm owner Matt Kozazcki at the nonprofit agency's annual fundraiser on Sept. 21.
After a March storm accelerated beach erosion in a section of the island along Annapolis Way, Kozazcki donated more than 40 800-pound hay bales to the foundation's emergency effort to retain what was left of the primary dune.
The fundraising event will be held at the Plum Island Grille on Plum Island Boulevard.
"This year, we will be honoring Matt Kozazcki of Tendercrop Farm and presenting Matt with the Plum Island Foundation's Outstanding Community Service Award, recognizing Matt and Tendercrop Farm for their invaluable assistance to the Plum Island Community in its time of need," foundation member Robert Connors said in an e-mail message. "Tendercrop donated over $10,000 worth of hay bales to help save homes on the island."
The event, which will run from 6 to 11 p.m., will feature food and drinks and live entertainment.
The wind and rainstorm of March 13 to 15 forced the evacuation of 27, 29 and 31 Annapolis Way, because the sea was undermining the dune behind them.
At a meeting of property owners and government officials after the storm, Connors had suggested the hay-bale barrier idea. He said the bales had never been used in Massachusetts but had proven to be effective in Australia and at Padre Island in Texas.
Kozazcki delivered nearly 40 of the bales, each 5 feet in diameter, to the Connors' house the following afternoon.
The bales were soaked with water to make them heavier, then wrapped in snow fencing and covered with sand.
The Annapolis Way erosion crisis occurred in a section of the island that as little as six weeks earlier had been considered secure, with plenty of dune between the sea and the houses.
The beach and the dune eroded rapidly during February and March.
Until March, an area north of Plum Island Center was considered the most critical erosion site. A project is getting under way to dredge the Merrimack River channel and deposit the sand directly onto that part of the shoreline.
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