Sand Dunes

Sand dunes are dynamic natural systems: waves of sand that build up and shift with the tides and the wind, providing protection for coastal communities.

When allowed to establish over time, sand dunes are able to provide a home to many species of grasses, wildflowers and insect life as well as specific rare species such as the natterjack toad and tadpole shrimp.

Dunes may be just a few years old or date back over 9,000 years. Whatever their age, this dynamic habitat presents conservation challenges in a landscape where little space is allowed for mobile habitats. Sometimes dunes are hemmed in by golf courses, farmland, and development. This reduces their ability to act as a constantly moving protection from the impacts of the sea, climate change and storms. When the natural processes that create sand dunes are interrupted, habitats and species are lost along with their flood and storm protection qualities, bringing more pressure on human coastal communities.

SCAMP will work with Solway’s coastal communities who want to protect, enhance and re-establish their dune systems for the benefit of people, nature and climate, with a focus on allowing dune systems to have the space to move inland.