Locals at St Anne’s Beach received more than 2000 Christmas trees last year. These trees are used for making sand dunes.
Christmas trees left on the streets are not only a sad reminder that the holiday season is over, but they can also be harmful to the environment.
In fact, seven million of the eight million items purchased each year are thrown away in the new year. This adds up to a large carbon footprint.
Over 10,000 old Christmas trees were saved from flooding and erosion along the Fylde coastline.
Over the last 150 year, more than 80% sand dunes in Lancashire have been destroyed. This has resulted in the loss of species like the rare natterjacktoad. Only 80 hectares are left.
The dunes are also home for over 280 plants as well as more than 150 species of butterflies, moths, and other insects.
Over 2,000 Christmas trees were donated by locals to be placed in trenches by volunteers from St Annes beach. This is the 10th anniversary of the project.
The top halves of the trees should be pushed out so that more sand can be blown by the waves. This will create dunes.
The Fylde Sand Dunes Project has been funded for five years more. It is hoped that it will protect almost 500 homes from coastal erosion and floods by acting as a natural barrier against the Irish sea.
Since 2018, over 400 captive-bred, captive-bred, sand lizard hatlings have been released into dunes. This reptile is one of the most endangered in the UK.
Similar projects have been conducted in Formby, Merseyside in Cornwall, Aberystwyth in Dyfed, Newquay in Cornwall and Merseyside in Newquay.
Amy Pennington, Project Officer at Lancashire Wildlife Trust, stated that the new dunes would not be added to the homes and nature reserves in the area.
Alan Wright, campaign manager, said: It is a great conservation program, volunteers can see results every year.
The dunes are well-shaped and smooth. On stormy days, you can see how they provide protection.
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