Marram grass planting to help conserve sand dunes
CLEAN Coasts in partnership with Sligo County Council are holding a marram grass planting training session in Strandhill this weekend.
The event aims to raise awareness on dune erosion while making efforts to protect the dunes by planting marram grass.
The training is free and open to all with an interest in protecting and conserving the coastline.
If anyone would like to take part in this event, volunteers will be meeting at the Cannon in Strandhill at 11am this Saturday, March25th.
Volunteers should come prepared with the appropriate clothing, footwear and water. As tools on site will be limited, we would be grateful if volunteers could bring along their own spades and trowels. Due to the use of tools this is an over 15’ s event.
Olivia Jones, Clean Coasts Officer said:
“Coastal erosion is both a natural and man- made problem. As responsible coastal users we can all do our bit to protect the coastline from erosion.
“This can be done by sticking to designated paths on sensitive dune areas and learning more about coastal habitats at events such as this.
“Everyone with an interest in protecting and conserving their coastline is welcome to come along and avail of this free training.”
Sand dunes are one of our natural coastal defences. They act as a buffer, absorbing the force of storms and protecting inland areas from high seas.
They are also an important habitat for coastal wildlife, with a wide variety of unique species residing in them.
One of the most common types of vegetation growing on sand dunes is called marram grass.
This type of grass forms a matted root system which runs deep under the dunes helping to stabilise them, while the grass’s blades above ground help to trap sand preventing it from blowing further inland. Unfortunately, human activities such as walking and horse- riding can have a serious negative impact on sand dunes. These activities uproot of marram grass and create man- made paths that are vulnerable to wind erosion. Join the movement in coastal protection and find out more at www. cleancoasts. org