A group of residents from Par worked hard to help pull invasive plants and shrubbery from the dunes of their local beach. 

A dozen volunteers and organisers from the Friends of Par Beach (FoPB) community group spent Sunday, January 28 tackling plants such as gorse, rosa rugosa and sea buckthorn on the lower part of the dunes. 

FoPB chair Jenny Tagney said: “These plants have massive root systems that keep the sand in place. That’s fine for bigger dune systems, but ours is developing and needs to be able to move. 

“Dune species like sea holly, sea spurge, sea rocket and marram grass are more beneficial in that they cope better with moving sand.” 

The team were grateful for the support and guidance of Andy Nelson and Jolyon Sharpe from Making Space for Sand (MS4S), a coastal resilience innovation project with a particular interest in flood resilience and sand dune management, currently working with 40 locations around the Cornwall coastline.  

MS4S donated tools for the day, including essential hand tools such as hand mattocks, secateurs, garden forks large and small, gauntlets and a battery-operated brush-cutter with safety equipment, plus support to train two members to use it.  

“It’s hands-on work, and having the right tools for the job - such as thick gloves for dealing with spiky grasses - makes it much easier,” said Jenny.  

“The donation enables everyone in a group of 12 to have those tools, some of which are not what you’d have in your garden shed.” 

FoPB will hold a Love Your Beach Day on Sunday, February 11. All are welcome to help with litter-picking and enjoy fun activities including seahorse sand sculptures, sand rake art and shell/seaweed identification.  

There will also be opportunities to discuss and learn about the potential environmental impact of the water desalination plant proposed by South West Water for the area.  

Arrive at the FoPB hut from 10.30am onwards. For further details, email [email protected]