Keen to care for dunes

Lots of people are keen to care for sand dunes in this district if the turn-out at a meeting last Friday (20 August 2010) night is anything to go by.  More than 50 people attended a dune care workshop organised by Gisborne District Council at Wainui Beach School. Dune care expert Wayne O’Keefe from Bay of Plenty spoke about the role of sand binding plants in preventing the erosion of sand dunes. This issue is particularly relevant along the stretch of beach from Makorori headland to the Wainui Stream where the sea regularly takes the sand away.

Many of the people who turned up to hear Wayne were from Wainui and Makorori but there were also small groups from Mahia and Tokomaru Bay. It was a great to see so many interested people there says Terry McMillan Council’s community facilities manager. “A lot of people have approached me about forming Beach Care groups and doing some planting. One group was so keen that they took the plants we gave them on Friday night and got stuck in planting the dunes on Sunday morning. Another came up to me and said the workshop had been a real epiphany to them. The penny dropped and they realised they can make a difference with a bit of effort. What made an impact were the before and after photos shown.”

“Many of the people attending the meeting had a lifetime of knowledge about the dunes and the beach that they were passionate about. Others had done a lot of individual research about dune care and were keen to make some recommendations. It would be silly not to harness this expertise to improve the health of our dunes.” 

Beach care groups are becoming common in other areas. Coast Care Bay of Plenty has had a lot of success with community driven dune restoration.  They plant 70,000 native sand binding plants each winter. The groups typically take responsibility for looking after specific areas of dunes and Council supports them by supplying plants, fertiliser, expertise and co-ordination.

Long time Wainui Beach resident Virginia Gunness attended the dune care workshop and said Wayne was just wonderful.  “He had a wealth of knowledge and gave a very logical explanation of how sand dunes work and what can be done to rejuvenate them.  He said that Wainui Beach is at turning point and now is a good time to get stuck in. We will always have sand movement here, plants will always get washed away, but Wayne showed us that it is worth persevering. This is something the Wainui/Okitu Residents and Ratepayers Association would be keen to support. I am going to go through to Papamoa in the next couple of weeks to have a look at what has been done there. Other residents are keen to join me.”

“Living by the Wainui Stream it was interesting to hear what Wayne had to say about stormwater draining onto a beach and how this always lowers sand levels. Although planting can slow down water flows the water flow down the Wainui stream may need redirecting if planting along here is going to be successful.”

After a visit to Wainui Beach earlier this year Mr O’Keefe is pleased with how things are progressing. He is keen to come back to the district in summer to look at progress and make some plans for inter planting. “The best thing about this is it won’t break the bank and has the potential to make a real difference.”

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