A group of Lossiemouth locals have collected recycled Christmas trees to combat coastal erosion.
Community members and RAF troops rallied together to help with the town’s very first dune restoration project.
Carolle Ralph, chair of Lossiemouth Community Council, told STV News coastal erosion, flooding and high motor levels have eroded the dunes over time.
STV News“We’ve got a lot of people working, a lot of RAF volunteers and community volunteers, and we’re trying to re-establish the dune. That’s what they might call a soft sea defence,” she added.
Ms Ralph said the trees are being planted in trenches at a 45 degree angle to help them withstand the wind and sea, as well as catch the sand.
STV News“It is a pilot, and we don’t know if it will work but we’re very hopeful and optimistic that it’s going to work,” she said.
People from across Scotland have donated different types of trees, with some coming from Inverness.
Men and women from the local RAF base also got involved after Fergie Cliff, station environmental protection officer at RAF Lossiemouth, saw the community Facebook page.
STV NewsMr Cliff said the volunteers were happy to get involved and help out, saying: “RAF Lossiemouth, we really do feel part of the local community and we appreciate we couldn’t do what we do without the local community support.”
“I got in touch with the Lossiemouth Community Council and said, ‘look, if you need a bit of help, need a bit of horsepower, I’m sure I can rustle up a few volunteers’,” he said.
STV News“Without much trying, we had like 40 and 50 boys and girls volunteering to come down and spare a bit of time to help out.”
The planting of the trees is the first phase in the plan, with the second phase seeing youngsters from a group called the eco warriors help plant marram grass across the beach.
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