Christmas trees help save dune

AS islanders on the Île de Ré take down their Christmas trees today the sapins de Noël are immediately being given new life – in helping to save the nearby sand dunes.

Residents on Bois-Plage-en-Ré were spared the effects of the killer Xynthia storm in 2010 because they were protected by a giant dune that extends for 6km down the coast and they are using the trees to make sure they are protected in future.

Helped by the association Dunes Attitudes, residents in Bois-Plage-en-Ré, Couarde-sur-Mer, Portes-en-Ré and Saint-Clément-des-Baleines are chopping up the trees and simply laying the branches on the sand dune to act as a windbreak and allow sand to build up.

When storm winds are blowing, sand gets lifted off the beach towards the dune and only falls to ground once the wind speed has fallen below 5kph. The Christmas tree branches act to slow down the wind and sand builds up under and behind them.

The branches work so well that they are quickly covered in sand. The 2013-14 winter was particularly hard on the dune with storms and high seas and last year’s experiment helped stabilise and rebuild it.

The dune is a favourite with holiday visitors, with children using it to ‘sledge’ on the sand. But this damages the sand cover and the dune loses about 10cm each year.

See other ways to get rid of your Christmas trees, here on connexionfrance.com

Photo: Dunes Attitudes
This France Bleu photo by Radio France/Romain Asselin
shows how the branches are laid to save the dune