 | | |||||
Friends of the Environment Abaco, Bahamas | ||||||
 | | | | | | |
Cross Beach Restoration | |
| |
 | ||||||||||||
Crossing Beach is located in Marsh Harbour. It is a small cove with a sandy beach facing northwest. It is located on the narrow peninsula extending east to Eastern Shores, and is more or less opposite the ferry dock on the south side of the peninsula. The shoreline is crown land in the centre but either end extends into private property. | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
Restoration Planting Day Crossing Rocks Beach | ||||||||||||
The beach is about 500 feet long and in its central area about 60 feet deep to the road, but this narrows to just 40 feet at the eastern end. The beach is a popular recreational area and the only beach in the Marsh Harbour area. Concern by residents suggests that there is erosion of the sandy beach, and it is desired to stabilize the beach/dune environment. In pursuit of this the beach and its immediate surroundings were studied and measured in an attempt to identify the underlying problems causing erosion, and the strategies that could be undertaken to restore it to an approximation of the original state, but especially a state that is stable and provides and aesthetic amenity that can be maintained in a heavily populated urban area. | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
No research has been done on the original state of this beach but it appears that the beach developed on the north side of the narrow strip of land and was fed by offshore sand becoming trapped in the small cove. The existence of vestigial dunes at either end suggests that there was a continuous dune backing the beach. | |
| |
 | ||||||||||||
Friends of the Environment (FRIENDS) is undertaking a restoration and beautification project at The Crossing Beach in Marsh Harbour. For many years the beach vegetation there has been mono-specific – which means one plant is dominating over all others. This plant is the invasive tree, Casuarina (Australian Pine). Probably introduced through Florida, this tree has been evident in The Bahamas for a long time. To some, this tree is iconic for The Bahamas. However, the only true benefit that The Bahamas has gained from this tree is a source of firewood. The Casuarina is a lazy employee for The Bahamas. While other plants, like seagrape and sea oats, work to trap and contain sand on beaches, the Casuarina sits idly by sucking up nutrients and competing with native plants for space. Casuarina needles are specially designed to inhibit the growth of any other plants near them. Also, Casuarinas, because of their shallow root system, do a poor job holding precious beach sand in place. | ||||||||||||
FRIENDS aims to restore biological diversity to Crossing Beach by removing the casuarinas and replanting with native vegetation. The top area of the beach (near the roadside) is very eroded, and has been for a long time. In order to give the new plants a base in which to grow, FRIENDS will shape a small dune in this area. | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
FRIENDS’ goals for Crossing Beach:
| ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
This project is being undertaken with the approval of local government. This restoration project is being managed by Friends of the Environment and post restoration maintenanence and parking will be managed by local govenment. | ||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Crossing Beach is the only public beach in Marsh Harbour, so we feel this is an ideal site for beautification and hope that more people will learn about the dangers of invasive plants because of this project and will consider removing dangerous invasive plants from their own property. For more information about invasive plants and their removal please contact FRIENDS, 367-2721 or E-Mail FRIENDS at info@friendsoftheenvironment.org | |||
 | |||
| | | |
Copyright 2004 Friends of the Environment. All Rights Reserved. Website designed by CocoMotion | ||||
| | | | |