[ISL] "UPEI students work to rebuild sand dunes in Cavendish"

[rfmcdonald]

In Charlottetown, The Guardian's Drake Lowthers writes about the necessary reconstruction of damaged sand dunes on the north shore of Prince Edward Island.

Summers on P.E.I. see thousands of tourists visit their historic lighthouses, lively ceilidhs and breathtaking beaches.

But a UPEI ecology professor says people don’t often think about the after-effects of the seasonal influx of visitors to the Island.

Christian Lacroix put 22 of his plant ecology students to work to rebuild dunes in Cavendish in partnership with Parks Canada.

The students stabilized a restoration area using recycled Christmas trees and replanted marram grass.

“If areas of a dune are trampled by people, plants are damaged and die off,” Lacroix said in an interview. “This die-off is followed by wind erosion which further damages surrounding plants.”