Anja Murray: Save Our Sand dunes — we need them now more than ever

The Maharees Conservation Association is doing great work for the unique ecosystems of flowering plants, mosses, lichens bees, moths and ground-nesting birds

Sand dune restoration: Volunteers with the Maharees Conservation Association show Anja Murray how marram grass is planted in to restore and stabilise sand dune slopes 

Schools are out, holidays beckon, and many of us are flocking to the seaside. All around the coast of Ireland, sandy coasts draw in day-trippers and holidaymakers keen to escape the daily routine. Being beside the sea is a wonderful thing: the soothing sound of waves, the smell of salt air, and the feeling of sand between your toes. Kids especially love tumbling down the sandy slopes of coastal dunes, though we are now realising this is something that causes the dunes to erode.

Last week I was with friends on a beach backed by a swathe of high sand dunes. The three kids among us excitedly ran straight for the dune slopes, keen to clamber up and run down again at speed. I know how much fun this can be. But when I informed them that this would damage the dunes, everyone looked at me oddly, trying to figure out if I was messing or not. The place they were especially keen to go was a high dune slope, already suffering from erosion, fenced off to keep people out, with signs reading ‘please keep out — dune restoration in progress’.

Volunteers with the Maharees Conservation Association plant marram grass to restore and stabilise sand dune slopes in Kerry

No-one likes to be a killjoy, and I’m all about getting out in to nature to enjoy the sights and sounds of wild places. The more tactile the experience the better. But watching my young friends exacerbate erosion on the dunes was not something I could witness with a clear conscience.

Sand dunes are fragile, dynamic systems, formed when sand blown in from the shore is trapped around an emerging strand of marram grass or sand couch grass — the ‘dune builders’. As sand keeps inundating the marram grass, shoots respond by growing more to keep its head above the surface. At first, this makes small ‘embryonic dunes’. Over time, sand keeps blowing in and the marram grass keeps growing up and up. While most plants wouldn’t be able to cope with being constantly inundated with salty sand, marram grass has adapted to live like this. A single marram plant can grow up to 25 metres in response to repeated burials! As it grows it keeps sending out new side roots to stabilise the system, roots stretching further and further down as the sandy mounds grow higher and higher. The tangle of fibrous lateral roots and shoots of marram weave and bind the sand together like internal scaffolding. It is marram grass and its root systems that bind sand dunes together, and this is why marram grass is referred to as the ‘dune builder’.

But in such exposed coastal locations, subject to fierce winds and storms, sand dunes are constantly eroding too. As sand is added, sand is also depleted, simultaneous growth and erosion. Land and sea are constantly readjusting to each other, as the opposing forces of erosion and deposition work to shape dynamic dunes. And this is why these sensitive systems are so vulnerable to anything that pushes the balance off-kilter.

Volunteers at Maharees have managed to reverse the damage and the most eroded parts of the dunes are now growing steadily again

Beaches can handle the footfall of many humans enjoying the shore, but sand dune systems cannot. Erosion from too much activity has become a problem for these fragile habitats. A lot of trampling can cause the marram grasses to die back, which in turn removes the capacity of the roots to hold the dunes in place. The roots of marram grass that weave the whole dune structure together become easily exposed and damaged. These leaves dunes without their internal scaffolding, so they collapse into loose windblown sand again. A narrow route up a dune slope can quickly become a wide, hollowed out trail, inviting more people in, further eroding the dune. Come winter winds and whole chunks of dune collapse.

This is problematic when well-meaning energetic people run up and down the face of sand dunes, or people have BBQs or go camping in the dunes. Obviously, the impact is cumulative — the more footfall, the more damage. As summer progresses, dunes all over Ireland are facing the pressures of our activities, no matter how well-intentioned we are in wanting to have a bit of fun in the dunes.

Sand dunes are valuable habitats, not just for their amenity and wildlife, but also as front-line protection from the impacts of climate change. As sea levels rise and storms intensify, sand dunes can help protect low-lying coastal areas from flooding. As climate change gathers pace, storms become more frequent, and sea-level rise threatens many coastal areas, the protective, shielding role of sand dunes is now more crucial than ever.

All around the coast, from Donegal and Sligo to Kerry and Cork, councils and community groups are taking action. Fences are being erected to keep people out of the most sensitive parts of dunes and marram grass is being planted in by volunteers to stabilise eroded slopes.

Stay on designated paths: the dunes at Maharees on the Dingle peninsula had been badly damaged by too much beach 'traffic'. Volunteers have worked to restore the vital marram grass there

In the Maharees on the Dingle peninsula, the sand dunes were badly damaged from too much recreational activity associated with high visitor numbers to this stunningly beautiful location. The dunes there had destabilised to such an extent that the only road in and out was regularly blocked with sand. The wonderful sand dune habitats were losing out too. A community group called the Maharees Conservation Association began working with nature to restore the dunes. 

With the advice of experts and the support of the council, volunteers have managed to reverse the damage and the most eroded parts of the dunes are now growing steadily again. This kind of approach is now being replicated by other communities all around the coast.

The unique ecosystems of flowering plants, mosses, lichens bees, moths and other invertebrates, as well as sensitive ground-nesting birds, are managing to hold on here because of the conservation efforts of the community. But the success of dune restoration depends on the extent to which people obey pleas to stop climbing about in the dunes.

If you’re planning a visit to sandy coasts in the coming weeks, be aware of the fragility of sand dunes and the need to support community and council conservation efforts. Where areas are clearly fenced off for protection and restoration, keep out! Stay on designated pathways and enjoy the beach.