Blog 6 - How to protect YOUR dunes
Here is a short blog with videos and links to material to print to help you protect your beach and dunes.
If you want to print off similar signs for your local beach, they are available here: https://www.caro.ie/projects-research/campaigns/sand-dune/community-signage
This summer I was delighted to be involved with a national campaign to highlight the pressure on the coastal dunes of Ireland. The launch of the #ProtectOurDunes coincided with World Sand Dune Day back in June, which highlights the importance of conserving these vital coastal habitats around the world.
We produced a series of 4 short videos exploring how dunes act as a natural protection against storms, how they respond to erosion events and can recover, how our activities can damage the dunes and how we can protect them.
Video 1. Natural Protection
Video 2. Erosion & Recovery
Video 3. How we can damage them
Video 4. How we can protect them
How Can You Protect the Dunes
In places where the dunes are narrow (10s of metres wide), ENJOY the beach and avoid using the dunes in any way – sorry it is that simple
In places where they are wider, stick to marked paths and respect local signage on how to use them
Where erosion is a problem, help out (or form) a local action group. Dune planting, sand-fencing, involving many local groups & managing authorities, and awareness amongst users are the basics of ‘working with natural processes’ for restoration
Dune planting will only work where sand is naturally available. On the dune face or the upper beach, winter storms may erode all your hard work in planting. Know this beforehand and be prepared to GO AGAIN. That is why we need to be flexible, to adapt and to have ongoing management plans that have a long term outlook. So rather than seeing this as a failure of dunes as a nature-based solution, we understand that one-time single actions need to replaced by long-term commitments to sustainable solutions (sustainable meaning we consider the health and wellbeing of our coastal communities (social and economic aspects) and the environment in which we live).
In a broader context, here is a short piece on visiting the coast in a responsible manner
