Since 2007, this community-led initiative has been working to restore and protect the unique dune ecosystems along Whanganui’s Castlecliff coastline – a part of Aotearoa’s longest unbroken dune system. Through the extensive planting of native species, the group helps combat erosion, enhances biodiversity, and fosters environmental stewardship.

Their hands-on approach strengthens both the land and the people who care for it, bringing together schools, disability organisations, local businesses, and volunteers for planting, seed collection, and dune maintenance. To date they’ve added approximately 40,000 plants back into the dune environment.

How and why did you first get involved with Castlecliff Coast Care?

We’d moved to Castlecliff because it had a beach we liked, on earlier visits to Whanganui. We were enjoying listening to the waves, walking the dog on the beach and, during summer, swimming and body boarding. We therefore thought it would be nice to give back to the beach and dunes.

We went down to the rear dunes, to join Ted Frost and others in a working party. This was early in the formation of Castlecliff Coast Care.

What makes the Castlecliff dune system so ecologically significant?

It is one of only a few accreting (gaining sand) beaches in New Zealand, and part of New Zealand’s largest sand dune system; one that stretches from Paraparaumu to Taranaki and includes the old dunes that our city is built on. By planting native sand binding plants (i.e. Spinifex and Pingao) on the foredunes, the accreting sand is stabilised and coastal infrastructure is protected from sand inundation.

Castlecliff Coast Care volunteers, supported financially by Whanganui District Council, Horizons Regional Council and The Gift Trust, have stabilised the large blow-out north of Morgan Street by planting 40,000 plants.

Dune planting / 📸 Castlecliff Coastcare 

How do you engage the wider Whanganui community in your work, and what impact have you seen from this involvement?

Castlecliff Coast Care utilises a range of ways to advertise activities.  We hold community planting events during winter and are willing to work with other groups looking for a way to contribute to their local environment.

The impact [is in the] excitement when people return and see how last year’s plants have established and grown. And the many casual conversations with our volunteers about dune ecology.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in restoring and protecting the dunes?

People riding horses, motorbikes and other vehicles through planted areas, even when they are obviously newly planted and signs have been erected asking people to stay off the plants.

How do you balance environmental restoration with public access and recreation at Castlecliff Beach?

Access tracks have been left through the foredune planted areas. Where any future planting is near car parks, access walkways will be created.

Can you share a memorable moment or success story that captures the spirit of the group’s work?

Magic Moments:  A mother helper telling her daughter, “Now we’ve planted here you’ll need to tell your cuzzy-bro that he can’t ride his motorbike down here!”. And no one has ever ridden a motorbike down there since.

Hearing a young girl down on the back dunes telling her cousin – one “who doesn’t live around here”, she later told us – about how things live under the logs on the back dunes. “Carefully roll the log, then look see to what’s there. Then you must put the log back where it was, as that’s the roof of their home. If a giant looked into your house, you’d want him to put the roof back carefully, wouldn’t you?”

She was repeating the exact words Lyn had used when talking to her school group about the creatures that live on the rear dunes and need our respect.

If anyone wants to help, what’s the best way to get involved?

• Visit the Castlecliff Coast Care website: www.castlecliffcoastcare.co.nz
• Check out future activities on the Castlecliff Coastcare Facebook page, or contact the group at ccadmin@castlecliffcoastcare.co.nz
• Come to the monthly Friends of Castlecliff Coast Care working bees. These take place on the first Monday of the month; we meet at 9.30am on the domain opposite 17 Seafront Road. For further details, contact Jan on 027 276 6697.

This is an important idea which we try to convey in words, but sometimes it’s just easier to demonstrate. So we’re walking the talk and converting our front lawn into a wildflower garden!

So far, we’ve cut and removed a large area of concrete (reusing some sections to form a new path), levelled out the existing lawn, covered it with a thick layer of brown cardboard (while being very diligent about removing plastic stickers and tape which won’t naturally break down in the ground), and covered the cardboard with soil. The next step is to spread a few big buckets of wildflower seed, and – fingers crossed – wait for nature to do the rest!

Why Rewilding Matters

Rewilding, even on a small scale, can have outsized benefits for the environment. By replacing a manicured, regularly mowed lawn with wildflowers, we’re creating a micro-habitat that supports biodiversity and resilience. Here’s what this type of transformation can bring:

• Increased Biomass: Lawns may look nice and clean, but they’re ecological deserts. Wildflowers, by contrast, offer varied root structures, foliage, and seasonal growth that contribute to richer soil and greater biomass.
• Pollinator Paradise: Bees, butterflies, and other insects thrive in wildflower environments. These pollinators are essential to food systems and ecosystems, and they’re in decline globally. We’d like our garden to become a small sanctuary.
• Carbon Sequestration: ‘Wild’ plants often have deeper root systems than turf grass, helping to store carbon and improve soil health.
• Stormwater Management: Wild lawns, with their deeper and more complex root systems, absorb rainwater more effectively than concrete or compacted turf. This helps reduce runoff and can recharge groundwater.
• Community Connection: The Black Pine studio is located on a busy suburban road near local shops, so we hope our wild lawn will invite curiosity, conversation, and joy. We see it as a living artwork that will change with the seasons!

The Living Building Challenge Connection

Our wild lawn project aligns with the principles of the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a rigorous performance standard for sustainable buildings that we actively encourage our clients to consider throughout their projects.

The LBC uses seven performance categories called ‘Petals’, each representing a key aspect of sustainable design. In this case, a wild lawn supports the ‘Place’ petal. The Place petal encourages projects to integrate with their ecological context, regenerate the environment, and honour the uniqueness of the site. In our situation, by removing concrete, rehabilitating the soil and planting wildflowers, we are:

• Restoring ecological function to a previously degraded site.
• Creating habitat for insects and birds.
• Celebrating native flora and seasonal cycles.
• Engaging the community through visible, accessible green space.

More broadly, the Place petal encourages thinking beyond buildings and to consider how, even on our small patch, we can help heal the land and inspire stewardship. For us, the wild lawn isn’t just a cosmetic change. It’s a small – but meaningful – act of ecological restoration and a gesture of generosity to our community.

We can’t wait to see what blooms this summer!