Dynamic Dunescapes is an ambitious project, rejuvenating some of England & Wales' most important sand dunes for people, communities and wildlife.
Many of us know and love sand dunes as beautiful coastal landscapes, but they are also important biodiversity hotspots. These dunes are a sanctuary for rare species which are perfectly adapted to live in sand. At a healthy dune, you could find orchids, toads, birds and lizards thriving!
But these special creatures are at risk. Over time, many dunes have become covered by grass and scrub which have over-stabilised the sand, and invasive species have overtaken native ones. We now know that a dune environment needs areas of freely-moving sand, healthy sheltered dune slacks and areas with low vegetation to support its diverse wildlife. We’re using pioneering conservation techniques to rejuvenate the dunes and make their shifting sands the perfect home for our threatened wildlife again.
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Important Notice:
When visiting your local sand dunes, remember to follow
Coronavirus restrictions and The Countryside Code.
Take Part in the John Muir Dune Discovery Award
A fantastic environmental award scheme focused on wild places. It helps people connect with, enjoy, and care for wild places.
Tune in and explore Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR with Bill Oddie
By following our new audio-guided trail in Lincolnshire.
Get Creative with a Dune Art Challenge
Simple, fun, and fantastic for kids, we have created eight different sand dune-inspired arts and crafts activities, each with a how-to video and accompanying downloadable activity sheets.
Dynamic Dunescapes for you
Whether you're exploring with your family, ready to join our volunteers or seeking innovative student research opportunities there’s a side of Dynamic Dunescapes for everyone.
News and Blogs
Find out about the latest exciting news from the dunes and read about our conservation actions in our blog.
Listen: Explore Anderby Creek with Tish from Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
Listen for winter birdsong and join Tish as she explores the sand dunes at Anderby, watches for wildlife and admires the expansive skies.
Welcome to The Twitchery! Bird sightings at Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR [Jan 2021]
There are many keen birders involved in Dynamic Dunescapes, and one such individual is Cliff Morrison who volunteers at Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR in Lincolnshire. In this blog series, he’ll be sharing his recent experiences and bird sightings at the reserve.
Connecting with nature from the couch; Our favourite wildlife and environment programmes
Put your feet up and enjoy nature with our team’s pick of their top documentaries and videos which help us connect with wildlife at home.
Discover the A – Z of Dynamic Dunescapes
Meet the special and rare creatures that live in shifting sand, explore the range of habitat types that can be found in a sand dune system, and find out what Dynamic Dunescapes is doing to bring biodiversity back to these beautiful landscapes.
Top Half-Term Activities for Families in the Sand Dunes
This October half term, we’ve chosen some of our favourite family activities for you and the kids, from exploring the dunes in search of some of the fantastic autumn plants and fungi that are growing right now, to downloading some of our sand dune wildlife spotter activity sheets!
Photographing Butterflies in North Wales – An Annual Obsession
Richard Glynne Jones explores the threats that our butterflies face with a changing climate and increased habitat loss, and shares his passion for identifying and photographing the species he spots in North Wales.
Footprints in the Sand – A jewellery journey
There is something about sand and sand dunes that has always captured my imagination. The way sand flows through your fingertips, the mesmerising way it falls through an egg-timer and how the invisible wind can create huge, graceful yet fickle dunes.
Journey to Dynamic Dunescapes: Tim Braund, Engagement Manager
What I had not appreciated was how rare, vulnerable and at risk these ‘unseen’ landscape gems are, the most at-risk habitat in Europe; over-stabilised and with reducing areas of bare and moving sand with associated losses in biodiversity and some species barely holding on as a result. The chance to be part of an ambitious large-scale project was too good an opportunity to miss.
Glow Patrol: on the hunt for Cornwall’s amazing glow worms!
I had heard that there were glow worms on The Towans sand dunes, but had never seen them myself. So when West Cornwall Reserves Manager Nick Marriott put me in touch with a local glow worm enthusiast, I decided I needed to find out more!
Northern dune tiger beetle: The fastest beetle in the world?
Did you know that here on the Sefton Coast, we have possibly one of the World’s fastest beetles? Around 2cm long, with colourful reddish wing cases with three pale bands and iridescent green underneath, its the northern dune tiger beetle Cicindela hybrida!
Top Half-Term Activities for Families in the Sand Dunes
This October half term, we’ve chosen some of our favourite family activities for you and the kids, from exploring the dunes in search of some of the fantastic autumn plants and fungi that are growing right now, to downloading some of our sand dune wildlife spotter activity sheets!
What’s new at Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR
In the spring of 2020, the progress of Dynamic Dunescapes project work in Lincolnshire has of course been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s an update on what we have been able to do at Saltfleetby-Theedlethorpe NNR.
WW2 Aircraft Artifact Found in the Sefton Coast Sand Dunes
As we celebrate 75 years since the end of the Second World War in 2020, one of the Dynamic Dunescapes project sites offered up a previously unearthed piece of wartime history, buried in the dunes for over three quarters of a century.
New fences protect toads and help cattle in Lincolnshire
In February this year our Lincolnshire team installed a series of new fences in carefully-chosen sites across the dunes at Saltfleetby-Theedlethorpe. The purpose of these new fences is to protect certain areas, including some of the pools that are used as key breeding areas for the dunes’ population of rare natterjack toads. The fences are…