The Nature Conservancy of Canada rounded up a group of volunteers this weekend in an effort to preserve sand dunes on the north shore of Prince Edward Island.
Julie Vasseur, provincial program director with the conservancy group, said as many as 20 volunteers came to St Peters Harbour to plant marram grass along the Gulf of St. Lawrence shoreline.
"It can take as little as ten steps to actually kill a marram grass plant," Vasseur said in an interview. "You get these bare patches in the dunes, and it's very easy for the sand to blow away when the winds are high."
The long, brown grass grows extensive roots in the sand which helps stabilize the shifting dunes and prevents erosion from tidal currents, storms and foot traffic.
The dunes provide a natural buffer for nearby wetland habitat. If the vegetation is destroyed, the dunes are pushed back and become the new beach which can put local wildlife at risk.
Vasseur says 14-hectare piece of land is a safe nesting site for the endangered piping plover. It is also home to osprey, bald eagles, black-bellied plovers and sanderlings.
Volunteers installed a portable wooden walkway on Saturday so visitors can enjoy the dunes without trampling the fragile plants that make them possible.
"We're building this right-of-way to keep people on track," Vasseur said. "Hopefully, it will give people a better path to follow when they want to get down to the beach."
The conservancy group has protected the pristine property since 2012, when it was donated by a local family as a tribute to their late brother.
