Gabrysia Cox, a year four pupil at St Peter’s Catholic Primary School in Lytham, won a competition to design an all-encompassing logo for the project.
And project officers Andy Mills, of Fylde Council, and Amy Pennington, of Lancashire Wildlife Trust, presented Gabrysia with her sea-themed prizes in front of her school during a special assembly.
Amy said: “We received 41 entries in total and Gabrysia’s was the one we all liked best. Actually a lot of entries came from Gabrysia’s year four class at St Peter’s, thanks to their teacher Chris Kidd.
“It’s great to see the school showing such interest in a project which is very close to all of their doorsteps. We had a lovely time telling the children about the project and asking them to act out some of our activities.”
The Fylde Sands Dunes Project is a partnership between Fylde Council, Blackpool Council and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, and is funded by the Environment Agency until 2022.
It is working hard to encourage visitors to the dunes in a way which does not further threaten their existence. The dunes offer a habitat for amazing wildlife including many rare plants, 150 species of butterflies and moths, and breeding birds including stonechats, skylarks and reed buntings.
The work also includes improving the dunes as a sea defence; increasing their width by encouraging natural dune growth on the foreshore. The dunes act as a natural barrier to the sea at high tide, and release sand during storm conditions to reduce wave action.
Amy Pennington and Andy Mills with Gabrysia
Amy said: “Children living on the Fylde have been playing on the dunes all their lives. It is part of their DNA so they came up with some brilliant ideas for what the image for the dunes should be.
“Gabrysia has created a logo that staff and volunteers will rally under and which those millions of visitors to the area will see for many years to come.”
The Fylde Sand Dunes Project has its annual Christmas tree-planting event at the end of this month. Thousands of trees will be recycled and placed in trenches in front of existing dunes.
Branches stick out of the ground and catch the sand as it is blown in or washed in by the tide. This creates a new barrier of dunes protecting important areas for wildlife and local homes.
Andy pointed out that, in some areas, the dune width has been increased by more than 20 metres in places, creating a stronger dune system for both wildlife and people.
If you still want to recycle your Christmas tree, you can take it to the North Shore Car Park (FY8 2TR). If you would like to volunteer as part of the Christmas tree planting event (on January 29, 30 and 31) – which is great fun – Contact Amy on 07860 954290 or apennington@lancswt.org.uk.
