When Kathy Elkins of Barnegat Light started placing seashells on a bushy tree on the Eighth Street oceanfront dune in October 2024, it was a small, therapeutic ritual that made her feel connected to something bigger after overcoming breast cancer. She didn’t expect it to gain traction with beachgoers and become a symbol of unity and hope.

“I felt that I had to pay back to the sea the beauty it gives us,” she said. “I would add shells every day.