The Bertra Connected group work on protecting the sand and grass dunes at Bertra Beach, Co Mayo. The dune system on the beach is shrinking rapidly and does not appear to building back up and recovering naturally as it once did. The very popular beach is under pressure from climate change and from over-use for recreationfun activities like walking, swimming, picnicing.
The community in Bertra has come together to find ways within nature to preserve these dunes. This project asks people to help protect the dunes by enjoying the beach responsibly. It includes awareness raising measures on social media to show the importance of our sand dunes to our coast and its biodiversity. People need to know how they can be easily damaged from recreational activities and be told about simple things we can do to preserve the dunes.
Where is this?
Bertra, Co. Mayo
Who started this action?
A group of concerned locals from Murrisk, Mayo County Council and NUI Galway came together in 2018 to look at the issue of erosion at Bertra Beach, and Bertra Connected (BC) was formed. The Bertra Connected group members include local communities, Mayo County Council, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Clean Coasts and Leave No Trace.
Some quick facts about the project
This Profile of the Bertra Connected Group is based on information provided by Mayo County Council
The main objective of the #ProtectOurDunes campaign is to raise public awareness around the value of sand dunes, how dunes are formed and the potential damage that can be caused to dunes from human activity. The sand dunes at Bertra beach have reduced by over 60% in the last decade.
The public are being advised of activities that can damage our sand dunes, including trampling on the dunes, sliding down the dune face, wild camping and campfires, sports training and roaming dogs. We can protect them by staying off the dunes, keeping to designated pathways and camping areas, following the direction of local signage and watching wildlife from a distance.
Highlights Click toggle ⊕ to see these
- Damage to our sand dunes is easy to see all around our coast. In 2021, the Climate Action Regional Offices began a campaign working with local authorities and University of Galway to show how important but fragile our natural coastal protections and important habitats are.
- Protecting and strengthening of natural coastal defences, like sand dunes, is important in improving how our coast can stand up to the impacts of climate change.
- The launch of the #ProtectOurDunes campaign highlights the importance of conservingprotecting nature and keeping it as it is these vital coastal habitats around the world.
- In Spring 2022 the project was awarded fund from the Heritage Council and ACT was appointed to produce the ‘Bertra 2050 Vision and Community Stewardship Plan’ through discussions with the important stakeholderspeople that will be affected (good or bad) by a project.
- Bertra Connected set out the actions needed to protect and restore the dunes, and change how people used them.
- A working group looked at climate adaptation in the area.
- Media campaigns and workshops were held to show how to prevent damage to the dunes.
- A long-term vision for Bertra, was developed with local community put at the centre as guardians of their natural surroundings.
Why this matters
This project began over concern for Bertra Beach. It quickly became a project about the very future of the coastal landscape and its local communities. The use of hard infrastructure to protect the dunes was used but it failed to stop the erosionwhen land gets washed away by weather: the rain or the sea . The ideal is to develop a local climate adaptation plan for the area, bringing together social, economic, cultural and environmental elements. Bertra Beach is under severe threat from overuse and storms. Through workshops, this collective vision was developed with the concept of community stewardship at its core.
SDG Alignment & Keywords Click toggle ⊕ to see these
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- SDG 13: Climate Action;
- SDG 14: Life Below Water,
- SDG 15: Life on Land
Keywords: Dune Conservation, Climate Change, Biodiversity, Climate Adaptation, Mayo
Find Out More about the project
The Activists Take-Away
Sometimes the best solution to a problem comes just from advising people about how they should use a natural resource like sand dunes. This means that you have to open up conversations and make alliances with local stakeholderspeople that will be affected (good or bad) by a project.
Listen to this podcast to learn how the people of Mulranny use the best communications practice to make sure they build alliances within their community.
Sustainable development, and participative democracy.
Listen on…
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