How driving on our beaches affects the environment
It’s a popular activity, but did you know that driving on our beaches can affect native vegetation and wildlife? Here’s everything you need to know.
In SA, we have a bunch of spectacular beaches (if we don’t say so ourselves). People come from everywhere to go for a dip, take a walk on the sand or just soak up the sun.
Many of us have also driven on the beach, whether to launch a boat or sit back and enjoy some fishing. In fact, since COVID, off-road driving has significantly increased in popularity.
Though it seems fine in isolation, people driving over our beaches again, again and … again, can seriously affect these critical ecosystems.
To ensure places like our beaches can be enjoyed by future generations, it’s important to be mindful of the effects we humans can have on our natural environments.
Here are some of the ways that driving on our beaches can affect nature.
1. Environment
The sand dunes you find along the SA’s coastline are magnificent but fragile.
These areas are susceptible to vegetation and root system destruction, and we need to make sure they are protected. As the buffer between the land and the sea, they play an important role in protecting inland vegetation from storms and waves.
Sand dunes also offer protection from coastal hazards like inundation and erosion. The vegetation on these dunes is also essential in maintaining stability of the dune system itself.
Healthy dunes absorb the kinetic energy of waves and slow them down. This protects the area from storm surges and king tide events. The dunes also help replenish the foreshore with sand after major sand loss events.
Taking a shortcut over dunes by foot or off-road vehicle can contribute to erosion, native vegetation decline and loss of habitat.
Car tyres can also bring in unwelcome coastal weeds that then compete for the same resources as native coastal vegetation.
This is why it’s important to always follow signs and, particularly in more regional areas, be mindful of the environment around you. That’s not to say you can’t have any fun, there are places you can safely drive and even partake in activities like sandboarding.
Natural environments can recover when undisturbed, but when they are being driven over regularly, it makes it very challenging.
This is why the state government recently introduced new restrictions on overnight camping and large camping vehicle access for Wauraltee Beach on the Yorke Peninsula.
This aims to help deal with issues like native vegetation damage and firewood removal, unmanaged toileting and release of grey water, and erosion of the dune system.
2. Wildlife
South Australia’s sandy beaches and dunes are home to a diverse variety of animal and plant species (even some quirky ones).
Many animals rely on these habitats, including some of our vulnerable shorebird species like the fairy tern, hooded plover, red-capped plover and pied oystercatcher.
Hooded plover
Hooded plovers are small shorebirds easily identified by their black hood, red circle around the eye and orange stalk-like legs.
They lay their eggs directly into the sand where they are nearly invisible. While this a clever strategy that makes it challenging for predators, the adult birds must remain on and near the nest for several weeks and are therefore particularly vulnerable during this time. Ravens, foxes, cats and goannas can all take some eggs, chicks and occasionally adult birds at nests. It can also be challenging for us humans to know where not to step (or drive).
Only 10% of chicks survive and the species is at risk of extinction with fewer than 800 left in South Australia.
Red-capped plovers
Not quite as well-known as hooded plovers, red-capped plovers are found at many of our local beaches. They’re our smallest beach-nesting shorebird, with adult males only weighing between 35 and 40 grams!
Much like hooded plovers, these birds nest on the beach during spring and summer which puts them, their eggs and their chicks at risk of being disturbed.
Pied oystercatcher
These distinctive black and white birds have a bright orange-red bill, eye-ring and legs.
They can nest on mudflats, sandbanks and sandy beaches, where they typically lay 2 to 3 eggs. Like the hooded and red-capped plovers, their eggs are well-camouflaged and susceptible to similar threats and disturbances.
Fairy tern
Fairy terns are the smallest tern in Australia.
They have white bodies except for a black patch on their heads that extends almost all the way down to their bright orange-yellow bills.
Unfortunately, their numbers are in decline and they are vulnerable in South Australia and nationally. Their eggs and the adult birds themselves are very well camouflaged, which means their nests are easily disturbed by people, cars and predators.
We all want to continue to enjoy our magnificent beaches. So, it’s all about finding the balance between visitor enjoyment and the need to protect our precious environment.
Next time you visit one of our beaches, take a moment and take stock of the incredible environment around you and how you can play a part in protecting it.
Want to learn more about our quirky beach birds? Check out 6 fun facts about the birds on our beaches. Beach lover? We have you covered with South Australia’s best beaches for summer.
Main image: Martin Stokes
