It has been a long-standing objective of Lecale Conservation to persuade local Councils and the National Trust to undertake conservation work on beaches they have opened to the public to ensure wildlife and the natural environment can also thrive at these sites.
This is a legal requirement but has not been happening in most areas in N.I. and beaches have seen wide- spread unnatural erosion from uncontrolled access to sensitive areas.
Thus in 2023 we were delighted when our Dune Project Leader Cadogan Enright was contacted by officials Council and the Strangford Lough and Lecale Coast Partnership to do on-site seminars with a view to gaining the knowledge needed to tackle the blue-flag beach at Tyrella where dune systems have seen devastating losses in recent years driven by human pressure on the front edge of the dunes and lack of maintenance and control of access points.
Lecale Conservation has obtained a £10,000 grant for this project which is dwarfed by Newry Mourne and Down District Council’s investment obtained mostly from the Environment Fund.
Picture shows Lecale members at Tyrella Beach in July 2023 6 months into what is likely to be
a 5-year project.
