What is a "Gute Küste" (good coast), where we can live and manage responsibly and sustainably, safe from natural hazards, in harmony with nature, embedded in the evolved cultural landscape? In the field of tension between steadily growing coastal settlement centers and the coast shaped by wind and weather, coastal protection measures are aimed at flood protection. In doing so, functions of equal or higher value for the overall system, such as habitats for animals and plants or tourist uses, are disregarded. Within "Gute Küste Niedersachen", real-world-laboratories are being created on the North Sea coast to achieve collaborative work between the project partners and local actors and citizens. In ongoing cooperation, the project investigates how maritime landscapes can be integrated into common concepts for ecosystem-strengthening coastal protection. On Spiekeroog, the project uses the existing infrastructure of the SCO. Especially the permanent measuring station in the Otzumer Balje and the sensors in the salt marsh serve a targeted observation and provide valuable data to create a comprehensive status picture of the coastal protection measures.