Install benches, paths for dune restorations

Providing the public with a suitable place to sit and enjoy the ocean view is an important component to most dune restoration efforts.

Sand dunes are part of a dynamic natural environment that can be disrupted by human impact, including sitting, sunbathing, or walking in the dune areas. Well-placed benches will help preserve dune integrity by offering an attractive alternative to being right on the dune.

Sand dunes are nature’s workshops where sand is processed and stored for future use on our beaches. Without dunes, our beaches lose sand and will get smaller and smaller with each passing day.

Sand dunes are resilient and durable in the face of natural forces, even battling and recovering from storms, but those same dunes are almost helpless against human interference.

UH Sea Grant provides us with the necessary information about the way nature manages dunes and the importance of limiting human impact. A practical solution is to install correctly aligned pathways and park benches.

Fortunately, many of our best beaches are accessible through a county park, where these amenities are more possible.

Bench areas can also be excellent locations for interpretive signage that help educate to the public about how our dynamic dune systems operate, why they are so important, and how they should be respected.

If the public is expected to stay off the sand dune areas, there needs to be maintained beach-access pathways and alternative places where people can sit and enjoy a great ocean view and marvel at nature’s handiwork.

Bob and Lis Richardson Kihei