The Findhorn Dunes are a moving miracle, showcasing nature’s awe-inspiring cycles and telling an epic historical story – from neolithic artefacts, natural disasters in 1694 and 1703, to a 1930s golf course now hidden by time.
The signs are all there, if you know how to read them.
Ecologist Sean Reed has done extensive research into understanding Findhorn Dunes and how they came into existence, recognising this as being fundamentally important in the production of the Trust’s next Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP).
His findings outline how glacial activity helped form the dunes thousands of years ago, highlights records of medieval sandstorms, and how later storms and river breaches destroyed an earlier village of Findhorn. He shares the work of local archaeologist, Michael Sharpe, whose finds – from the Mesolithic to the second world war – include some ritual objects that suggest this area was possibly long considered a ‘liminal place’, of spiritual significance.
‘Most relevant to our land management work – especially the Dune Restoration Project – is that it appears the dunes have been stabilising ever since a huge storm, over 300 years ago, severely reduced sand supply to the dunes,’ says Sean. ‘Sand stabilisation has then accelerated rapidly over the last 100 years due to various human activities. This stabilisation has allowed the growth of encroaching vegetation, which now threatens the national biodiversity importance of the area.’
This research is a fascinating and important read!
The geomorphology and history of Findhorn Dunes_Sean Reed_ FHT Autumn Newsletter.docx
Dunes research – deep-time glaciers, gorse and a hidden golf course
The signs are all there, if you know how to read them.
Ecologist Sean Reed has done extensive research into understanding Findhorn Dunes and how they came into existence, recognising this as being fundamentally important in the production of the Trust’s next Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP).
His findings outline how glacial activity helped form the dunes thousands of years ago, highlights records of medieval sandstorms, and how later storms and river breaches destroyed an earlier village of Findhorn. He shares the work of local archaeologist, Michael Sharpe, whose finds – from the Mesolithic to the second world war – include some ritual objects that suggest this area was possibly long considered a ‘liminal place’, of spiritual significance.
‘Most relevant to our land management work – especially the Dune Restoration Project – is that it appears the dunes have been stabilising ever since a huge storm, over 300 years ago, severely reduced sand supply to the dunes,’ says Sean. ‘Sand stabilisation has then accelerated rapidly over the last 100 years due to various human activities. This stabilisation has allowed the growth of encroaching vegetation, which now threatens the national biodiversity importance of the area.’
This research is a fascinating and important read!
The geomorphology and history of Findhorn Dunes_Sean Reed_ FHT Autumn Newsletter.docx