Whangamatā dune restoration / construction

In Whangamatā, Coastcare Waikato reshaped and replanted newly constructed dune faces along 750m of coastline, protecting the housing directly landward of the beach. Sand was harvested from the mid beach and reshaped on the dunes at the land edge (Ocean and Community Dynamics at Play in Dune Restoration, 2023). This was the preferred option over hard engineered solutions like seawalls which can exacerbate coastal erosion by deflecting wave energy. The benefit of using a soft engineered dune, is that there is no material (fencing or engineered structures) to be exposed in the future, and the shifting beach landscape can continue through naturally fluctuating erosion and deposition processes (Magliocca et al., 2011).

Planting of locally appropriate native ōwhangatara/spinifex and pīngao dune grasses was carried out by community members including local land owners and schools (Ocean and Community Dynamics at Play in Dune Restoration, 2023). These species accrete sand to continue building dunes seaward, naturally increasing the dune buffer zone over time. Coastcare Waikato has used similar methods to rebuild dunes in multiple other locations in the region, at Kūaotunu, Tairua, Greys Beach and Cooks Beach (Caring for Our Coast, 2024).