Christmas trees being used again to stabilise sand dunes

Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services is hoping that the trees, used alongside fencing, will help the natural wall that protects the area behind from storm surges and high waves.

More than a third of Guernsey’s sand dunes were lost between 1999 to 2018.

The dunes are a biodiverse habitat and provide a home to species such as sea rocket, sea kale, and the Cornish shield bug, which is rare in the UK.

ACLMS said that sand dunes were dynamic features that were changing regularly, but could be put under stress due to the proximity of infrastructure, continued trampling and storm events.

‘These stressors can lower their efficacy as a coastal defence, and maintenance is required to preserve and protect the natural benefits they offer us,’ a spokesman said.

‘They protect us, let’s protect them.’

The work will start with sand, that has built up over time, being removed from pathways making them easier to use.

Fencing and Christmas trees will then be placed in the dune to stabilise it, in a process known as dune thatching.

This will reduce wind speeds, and encourage the build up of blown sand. Fencing will be erected to support this process.

The second phase will take place after the large tides of the spring equinox.

Fencing will be placed at the base of the dune to deter erosion caused by trampling and encourage natural regeneration of the dune habitat.

The best way to stabilise a dune is through encouraging native plants to establish which have an extensive root system and can bind the sand.

Marram grass may be planted to speed up the dune recovery.

Trampling the grass weakens and breaks the root structure, decreasing its ability to bind sand and damaging or killing the plant.

Creating new pathways through the dune can also lead to blow outs, where wind is funnelled through areas of bare sand causing further erosion.

The public is asked to help by staying on pathways and never lighting barbecues near vegetation.