Help Rebuild the Dunes with your Christmas Tree

If you’ve been looking for a way to help save the dunes, especially after Hurricane Florence, we’ve got a simple and easy tip – help rebuild the dunes with your Christmas tree!

Help Rebuild the Dunes with your Christmas Tree

Still Battling Back from Hurricane Florence

There’s no hiding the fact that the last quarter of 2018 was a whirlwind for thousands of people along the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. If we all learned a lesson since Hurricane Florence, it’s how truly incredible of a community we live in. Neighbors pitched in to clean their communities, volunteers stocked and distributed household goods for those in need, and town governments got right to work hauling away debris. It’s safe to say that we’re coming into 2019 with a much stronger and resilient sense of community than ever before.

Beach Dunes Never Breached

With all that being said, the beach is still the major factor in driving tourism traffic to our coast. Even with the significant storm surge and winds, there was no reported breaching of the dunes. They did their job and stood tall to protect our properties, homes, and local businesses. It’s clear now more than ever that it’s time to rebuild these sand dunes back up to the point they were in prior to the storm. Believe it or not, but donating your Christmas tree is an excellent opportunity for you to help restore our shoreline. When left on the beach, Christmas Trees take almost an entire year to decay. Winds coming off the ocean transport blow sand up the beach, which can become caught in the branches of the trees. Hopefully, by the time the trees are decomposed, they will be buried in migrated sand, thus expanding and strengthening our sand dunes.

What You Can Do To Help Rebuild The Dunes

Atlantic Beach Residents –

The AB Public Works Department will be picking up Christmas Trees for Dune Restoration from now until Monday, January 14th. Simply place your Christmas Trees out on your curb and they will come by to pick them up and use them to re-nourish the dunes.

Emerald Isle Residents –

Oceanfront homeowners and residents are permitted to place trees along their dunes to promote sand accretion and are welcome to do the same with any collected from their neighbors. The town asks that you please be careful to not impede on Public Access Points and vehicular accesses on the beach strand.

Other Residents –

The Bogue Banks Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation will be collecting trees at the Eastern Ocean Regional Beach Access (2701 Emerald Drive) up until Friday, January 11th. The group will distribute the trees along the dunes areas most affected by the Hurricane. If you’re unable to bring your tree to the location- send them a message on Facebook and they may be able to come out and pick it up for you.

We Appreciate You Doing Your Part to Help Rebuild the Dunes

Thank you for your help in restoring our shoreline. There are bids out for dredging and re-nourishing the entire beach within the next two years, so with your assistance, we should continue to enjoy a wide and beautiful beach strand for many years to come.