Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino and the Town Board announce that the Town will host a fall ‘Dune Day’ initiative on Sunday, October 13th at TOBAY Beach, beginning at 10 a.m. The dune planting program, held annually in the spring, is being added this fall after a major storm washed away much of the TOBAY shoreline in advance of the summer. To save the summer season for Town residents, officials replenished the beach with 33,000 tons of sand in advance of the summer.
“After we successfully rebuilt much of our shoreline to ensure our residents could enjoy their summer at TOBAY Beach, our Town looked into securing grant funding for new dune grass so a follow up planting program could take place in the fall to help further protect the new dunes that were constructed,” explained Supervisor Saladino. “We were successful in securing a $15,000 grant from the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District to replace the dune grass washed away this spring and help protect the dunes which are vital to protecting our beach.”
The Dune Stabilization Project helps preserve the beach and barrier island as dunes along the south shore continue to face environmentally damaging storms that can have a significant impact on the beach. Statistics indicate that the planting of dune grass provides a natural shield that is perfect for withstanding storm surges and high winds.
To register in advance as a volunteer, residents can visit www.oysterbaytown.com/volunteerform. For additional information, contact the Department of Environmental Resources at (516) 677-5943 or email environmental@oysterbay-ny.gov.