Working to save Bertra’s dunes
THESE photos of Clew Bay today and what it might look like after a storm in 2050 paint a startling picture.
The dunes at Bertra beach are in danger and will disappear if we don’t act now.
A local community campaign is underway to ensure they are saved, with the next in a series of community meetings taking place this week.
Increased storm frequency, rising sea level and recreational use of the dunes have all contributed to the erosion and destabilisation of Berta’s dunes. In the past 12 years the marram grass which holds the dune sand together has decreased by 62% and this trend is likely to continue if we don’t act to reverse the degradation and implement regenerative practices and management.
The dunes play several important roles that the communities around Clew Bay benefit from. They provide natural habitats of significant value, they act as a store of sand that ensures the beach remains sandy, they provide a scenic draw that attracts tourists and locals alike, they provide recreational space, give shelter to the shellfish farms in the bay and provide a protective buffer from the sea and storms. So what can we do?
Get involved in planning for the future now.
There are opportunities and initiatives to do this, but a real urgency to drive these on and demand more be done is missing. Those champions, agents for change, are needed in households, in local communities, in local government and national government.
The Maharees in Co. Kerry is an example of what is possible when a community with a shared vision acts to resort their damaged natural heritage and improve their costal resilience.
Bertra’s restoration has the potential to be a success. It will not prevent sea-level rise, it is not a simple answer to a complex problem. It is, however, an opportunity to do something now that will have positive effects for its coastal communities come 2050.
ACT (Accelerating Change Together), a social enterprise of architects and policy specialists, are developing a vision on behalf of Berta Connected, Mayo County Council and the CARO that aims to become a blueprint for Bertra’s future. The initiative is funded by the Heritage Council.
The vision is being co-designed through several workshops with the participation of various government bodies and local stakeholder groups. And they want all locals, users, and lovers of the dunes to have their say in this initiative.
To achieve their aim, they want to work with the natural process.
Say ACT: 'Cherish and enhance its ‘wildness’ (many beaches and dunes have lost this). The Wild Atlantic Way is an incredible resource, but we need to avoid mistakes that take from that wild element.
'We need to avoid hard infrastructure on or near dunes and beaches, and even begin to move them back to rewild these places.'
The next workshop, ‘Visualising Futures’, is on August 18 from 7-9 p.m. in the Tavern in Murrisk. The following workshop, ‘Pathways to Delivery’, will be held on September 15 from 3-5 p.m.
Come and have your say. All are welcome.