Public urged to stop walking on sand dunes at popular Mayo beach
by Joanna McNicholas
The public are being asked to refrain from walking on the sand dunes at one of Mayo’s most popular beaches, Bertra, at the foot of Croagh Patrick outside Westport.
The dune system is under serious threat from erosion and urgent restoration is needed to prevent Bertra from disappearing completely.
The call comes as the first-ever World Sand Dune Awareness Day, being marked today, highlights the hugely important role dunes play in coastal protection from storms caused by climate change.
The dunes on the four-kilometre stretch of beach have disintegrated rapidly since a fierce storm in 2014 when Bertra was breached by the Atlantic.
A marram grass planting project has begun in the hope of rebuilding the dunes.
The local dune project group, Bertra Connected, is asking people to stay off the dunes in an attempt to maintain the protective barrier which Bertra naturally provides between the Atlantic Ocean and the Clew Bay coastal landscape which lies just behind the peninsula.
“We are doing this project to prevent Bertra being washed away with the next big storm. If Bertra dune was to go, the Atlantic would be coming straight in.
"There would be no protection as far as Westport Quay, and houses on the foreshore could get flooded,” said Bertra Connected spokesperson Niall Kelly.
Dunes develop from wind carried inward and are dependent upon natural vegetation to slow down the wind and capture the sand.
Over time they build into mounds of sand that provide shelter from storms and coastal flooding. Marram grass is quite sturdy but fragile when trampled on. The bigger the dunes the more shelter they provide, both for habitats and the communities living behind them.
David Mellett, regional coordinator, Atlantic Seaboard North Climate Action Regional Office (CARO), said sand dune systems are a valuable piece of natural infrastructure that will act as barriers for coastal erosion and sea-level rise which coastal communities are going to face with climate change.
“Sand dunes are often seen as part of the beach, and a lot of beachgoers who are very welcome to the area don’t realise they are doing potential damage. We need to enjoy the beach but protect the dunes,” he explained.
The Bertra dune project is being supported by Mayo County Council and Dr. Kevin Lynch, environmental scientist, NUI Galway.
Several local volunteer groups have offered their assistance and anyone wishing to help with the project can get further information at Bertra Connected pages on Twitter and Instagram.