The Story of a Sand Dune By Alaina Loughridge
You don’t really think about Tybee’s sand dunes as you struggle with your cooler, umbrella, chairs, and screaming kids desperate to stick their toes
in the water. It really is just a mound of sand between you and where you want to go. I am about to unleash an eye opener for you: Tybee’s sand
dunes are more than just a hill to navigate. They protect our little piece of paradise from storm winds and waves. Looking at the last two years of
hurricanes, namely Matthew and Irma, those mounds of sand have become more important than ever before.
I had a chance to sit down with Cathy Lewis and Sam Adams of the Tybee Beach Task Force Committee and learned a few things about our mounds
of sand, or lack thereof, after Irma came a visiting. Let me give you a little history. We have had sand fencing for many, many years. This fencing
captures sand blown up into the dunes from the beach and deposits it in place with the help of specific plants. Due to Irma literally kicking Tybee’s
ass, most of our precious dunes disappeared into the nether world. The TBTFC got together and came up with a plan - a differently patterned
fence design that will collect the sand naturally, no matter which way the wind blows. With the last fence pattern only collecting the sand when
the wind blew out of the Northeast, it was really quite a concept.
Contacting Terracon, an engineering firm and Environmental Services, an environmental firm with this skeleton plan, Tybee got lucky when both
organizations got on board and started fleshing out this plan (jointly funded by the City, State and Feds). The Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) was brought in and agreed to an experimental trial to see if this plan will work. There are currently three experiments happening and
they are located at the Gulick Avenue, Second Street and 14th Street crossovers. The growth is measured every quarter and will continue for
approximately one year.
Now this may sound simple to some, but it took a lot of hard work. When TBTFC did their Call to Clan, over 120 volunteers showed up to dig
holes and install some serious fencing on these three sites! 120 people! That is huge! That goes to show you how important this effort is to our
community, as well as proof positive
that Tybee people always come
through and are truly #Tybee Strong.
Due to a number of rules and
regulations, these experimental
dunes unfortunately are not able to
be roped off. Only signs are allowed
to instruct people to stay out of the
area. This is no Bueno, as a number
of people do not understand the
importance of this experiment.
It really is a BIG DEAL and other
oceanside communities are watching
Tybee closely to see if this experiment
will work for them as well.
The moral of this story is we need
our dunes! They protect Tybee! So, on
that note, stay off of them! Tromping
through the dunes destroys valuable
time, effort, flora, fauna and so much
more. It may not seem like much
looking at them, but the world is
made up of many small moving parts
that create the bigger picture. Who
thinks about which way the wind
blows?
Y’all should be grateful I didn’t get
my way - Land mines. That will keep
you out.
4 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | AUG 2018