Sand dunes are usually made to help protect the shoreline ecosystem. It can also help to keep the wind from blowing the sand on the homes that are nearby. Sand dunes can also provide habitats for some marine species which is also why we need to restore dunes that have been washed away. Dunes could also help protect human homes or buildings nearby by helping to stop floods from happening because of storms or heavy rainfall. Also it helps keep sand where it belongs. These are the main reasons why dunes are made.
But there is a huge problem here, sand dunes have been disappearing because of big storms of winter. Without sand dunes floods will happen way more often because there will be nothing to block the water from going to the nearby homes and buildings. The wind will also blow the sand on the beach to nearby homes. Plus some animals will lose their home because of that. This is a humongous problem for people and animals. This will also make the beach into a disaster because sand will be blown to places where there isn't supposed to be any sand.
Luckily there is a solution, The fourth grade class of Union Avenue school used dead trees by first digging a huge hole and putting dead Christmas trees in the hole and burying it. The trees were 100 feet tall! By doing this they created a dune. The recycled trees kept the new dune in place the whole entire winter. The sand dunes were washed away by the huge winter storms, but the dunes at Margate held together because of the buried trees. This solution was amazing because now we know how to make dunes that won’t disappear so fast.
After, because of the success the fourth grade class decided to continue the project. Then Teacher Kevin Burns from Brigantine Middle School wanted his students to make one too. All because of the success of the kids' plans they got help from the officials of the town. The kids cooperated with the adults and they did an amazing job. This was amazing because it was continuous. So now this new way of making strong and long lasting dunes. This will help not only people but also animals like crabs and stuff.
Just because some people don’t live near the beach doesn't mean it does not matter. We need to jump out of our box and think about how it can also affect us. Like we need to care about the beach because if you know most of the beach is beautiful especially the rise. All of the marine animals live there and they all need a home to live. If nobody cares about animals they will all be extinct at the end. So in order to care for animals that are marine we need to be more respectful of the beach. This is why we need to care about the beach even if we don’t live near the beach.
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