Community Engagement
Communication and collaboration with local communities and community groups will be critical to the success of the project. The aim of the Community Engagement Team is to work with communities and volunteer groups to increase their knowledge about how predicted climate change will affect Sea Level Rise (SLR) and coastal dynamics in the future. Using this knowledge we hope to support coastal communities to build Beach Dune Management Plans and Coastal Adaptation and Resilience Plans to provide protection against these changes.
The project is working in partnership with; Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall Community Flood Forum, who will be delivering the engagement activity. Other project partners; University of Plymouth and South West Coastal Monitoring will support this activity by providing data about coastal change. Using this data we will create modelling which will enable comparisons between coastal change past and present and provide projections for future change.
Beach Dune Management Plans (BDMPs)
Many of the sand dunes and beaches around Cornwall’s coast are currently experiencing net erosion and sediment loss. These dunes have a role in providing protection against the risk of coastal flooding, as well as providing rare and biologically diverse habitats for wildlife. It is vital, therefore, that the beach-dune systems around Cornwall’s coast - that represent some 15% of the total sand dune habitat in Britain, are managed in a sustainable way over the long-term.
As the project progresses, we will produce a series of Beach Dune Management Plans (BDMPs) for key project locations. These plans will detail the current health and condition of the dunes and a plan for their improvement. The plans will be broader than just covering the ecological and environmental conditions that a location needs to thrive, they will also pull together all of the learning we have gained throughout the project and provide prescribed solutions to improving dune health.
Image of volunteers carry out vegetation management on Penhale Towans
Where suitable opportunities are identified, local communities will be invited to engage with the project to discuss issues affecting beaches and dunes. For example; this may be identifying where we have a lack of knowledge or it could be discussing problems caused by invasive species. There will also be a chance to discuss potential management techniques and solutions to problems, which may form part of the Beach Dune Management Plan. This might include ways that local volunteers can get involved in practical conservation work and/or monitoring of dune ecology.
Get Involved
Andy Nelson - Cornwall Wildlife Trust (who are a Making Space for Sand Project partner) is the Community Engagement Lead for Beach Dune Management plans.
Please contact Andy for more information about this aspect of the project and if you would like to 'Get Involved' and support your local dune systems.
Community Resilience Action Briefs (CRABs) and Coastal Adaptation Plans (CAPs).
Cornwall Community Flood Forum (CCFF) will support coastal communities, vulnerable to coastal erosion and flooding, towards developing their own unique Community Resilience Action Briefs (CRABs) and Coastal Adaptation Plans (CAPs).
We will help to guide vulnerable coastal communities to understand, and articulate, local impacts of climate change and support them in becoming more resilient to change. We will also work with coastal communities to develop community champions, to ensure the voice of the community is at the heart of local decision making.
Image of a Mawgan Porth Community Event
Community Resilience Action Brief (CRAB)
Coastal communities will have a local understanding of many options available to overcome the challenges of the changing environment around them. We will support the development of CRABs to help communities respond to coastal flooding events. This work will support increased resilience to coastal change and help identify priorities using low impact nature-based solutions, where possible.
Coastal Adaptation Plan (CAP)
In some cases, coastal communities may need to take action to adapt to the changing coastal environment (e.g., by moving infrastructure, such as access roads, car parks, or public amenities). Where necessary, we will support the community to work towards producing a plan to reduce future flooding and coastal erosion risks, exploring options on how this might best be achieved.
Community Engagement Workshops
CCFF will be running a series of Community Engagement Events, on behalf of Making Space for Sand, throughout the coming year. These events will be held for the benefit of the communities where it has been identified that the project can give the most support in developing adaptation and resilience plans.
Although there will be some formal elements to the engagement sessions, the hope is the sessions will help communities understand how increased storm events, sea level rise and climate challenges may affect their beaches and dunes and ultimately their lives and businesses.
The ultimate aim of the events will be to identify and support community champions who will be interested and willing to develop adaptation plans and help build resilience to these changes to protect their communities into the future.
Get Involved
Cornwall Cornwall Community Flood Forum (who are a Making Space for Sand Project partner) are the Community Engagement Lead for Community Resilience and Coastal Adaptation Plans.
Please contact CCFF through the link to the email address below for more information about this aspect of the project and if you would like to 'Get Involved' and support your community in developing resilience and coastal adaptation plans.
Sign up to Making Space for Sand
If you would like to get involved in helping to make dunes more resilient and biodiverse, want to help develop coastal adaptation and emergency plans or just want to know more about what the project is learning about coastal change, please click here:
