Restoring coastal areas

Sand dunes are important natural areasnot only for their ecological significance - but also because they protect our beaches and coastal areas from erosion. Dunes actually act as barriers against the damage done by storms and waves.

So protecting and restoring dune areas can help conserve our coastline for years to come.

Protecting and restoring coastal dunes

In the past, sand dunes hosted a wide variety of native plants that stabilised the dunes and provided habitat for many insects, animals and birds.

Unfortunately, development, the introduction of animal pests, such as rabbits,and activities such as driving motor vehicles on dunes have damaged or destroyed many areas of dune habitat and had a detrimental effect on the dunes themselves.

The introduction of exotic plants, particularly marram grass (Ammophila arenaria), intended to stabilise dunes has caused further problems. Marram grass rapidly colonises bare sand and builds very tall, steep dunes. Because this plant is intolerant of salt water these steep dunes eventually blow out when the marram dies out on the seaward side. This causes large drifts of highly mobile sand to blow inland and to be lost to the dune system.

Today it is widely recognised that our native sand binding plants, pingao (Desmoschoenus spiralis) and whangatara (Spinifex sericeus) do a much better job of holding sand on the foredune. They are increasingly being used in foredune restoration projects throughout our region.

How you can help

If you are interested in helping to restore our coastal ecosystems; consider starting or joining a coast care group. Greater Wellington supports several care groups doing a variety of work around the region's coast. These include:

Finding out more

The Dunes Trust is an organisation formed by and for people with an interest in sand dune vegetation. The network holds an annual conference and collects and distributes information to help people preserve these fragile ecosystems.

The Department of Conservation also has information on their website, including information directly relating to Wellington region's coast.

Environment Bay of Plenty has a very comprehensive coast care programme with many useful resources.