Lancashire Coastline Defended by Unlikely Barrier: Discarded Christmas Trees
Miles of Lancashire coastline are receiving an unusual form of protection against rising sea levels: discarded Christmas trees. Hundreds of volunteers are working to bury tens of thousands of trees along the beaches south of Blackpool, transforming them into nascent sand dunes.
The initiative, which began over three decades ago and has ramped up in recent years, addresses a critical issue. Since the mid-1800s, the Lancashire coast has lost an estimated 80% of its sand dunes due to the expansion of seaside towns like Blackpool and Lytham St Annes, according to Amy Pennington of Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
“Sand dunes used to extend for miles and miles inland but we’ve colonised and built the towns so now they’re a very thin fragment of what they used to be,” Pennington explained. “They’re important because this is the only form of sea defence that the local community has.”
The process is straightforward, though physically demanding. Volunteers haul the tinsel-free trees into shallow trenches, allowing nature to take its course. As the wind blows, the branches trap sand, gradually building up the dunes. These new dunes are intended to protect homes and infrastructure from increasingly frequent storm surges and rising tides.
The UK has lost approximately 30% of its sand dunes since 1900, with about two-thirds of that loss occurring in the last 30 years. Sea levels around the UK have risen by roughly 19.5cm during that period, a rate higher than the global average.
Beyond coastal protection, the project also provides a vital habitat for wildlife. Sand lizards, absent from the area for around 60 years, were reintroduced in 2020 and are now breeding successfully within the newly formed dunes. “Each year we’ve spotted more and we’ve seen lots of young which means they’re breeding on the dunes,” said Andy Singleton-Mills, area conservation manager for Fylde council. Tracking the lizards, however, remains a challenge, as they are naturally elusive.
Last week, 650 volunteers participated in a planting effort on Lytham beach, burying approximately 2,000 donated Christmas trees. The trees are planted along a two-mile stretch of beach, interspersed with tufts of marran grass, whose extensive root systems further stabilize the dunes.
Pennington anticipates that the new dunes, potentially reaching a height of 3 metres (10ft), will offer lasting protection. However, she acknowledges the long-term challenge posed by accelerating sea level rise. “Eventually we will get to a point where the tide is regularly meeting the work we’ve done so they will just be swept away. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop building them out, we will just start building them up.”
The initiative highlights the growing need for innovative and sustainable approaches to coastal defense. While sand dunes may sometimes be seen as a simple feature of the landscape, they play a crucial role in protecting communities and supporting biodiversity. As artist Holly Moeller observed, “The sand dunes can look quite sparse and bare but they’re such an amazing habitat – there’s so much going on that you don’t see at first glance.”
