A steel cradle fixed to a fence post now stands at Tyrella beach in County Down. It holds smartphones in a precise position so that anyone walking past can take a photograph of the upper beach. Scan the QR code on the sign beside it, upload the image, and the picture joins a growing database used to watch how the coast changes.
This CoastSnap station, installed in early July 2026, forms the Northern Ireland arm of the Co-creating Coastal Resilience project. The project became active on 1 February and blends scientific monitoring with citizen science. Rather than rely solely on distant models, it builds a visual record rooted in repeated observation from the same spot.
Dr Melanie Biausque, geomorphologist at the Geological Survey Northern Ireland, leads the work. She notes the practical value of such records.
Sand dunes are natural defences that protect our coasts while supporting rich ecosystems. We are proud to lead this project, which combines scientific monitoring with citizen science to better understand how Tyrella’s sand dunes are evolving and the role of Nature-based Solutions.
The approach emphasises individual agency. Beach visitors, acting on their own initiative, contribute data without specialist equipment or direction from above. Their photographs capture shifts in sediment, erosion patterns, vegetation growth and the coastline's response to weather, seasons, tides, currents and waves. Over months and years these images create a crowd-sourced timeline that complements monthly RTK-DGPS surveys, drone mapping and volunteer field measurements taken from existing fencing poles.
Tyrella was chosen for good reason. The two-kilometre sandy beach sits behind roughly 25 hectares of dunes within the Tyrella and Minerstown Area of Special Scientific Interest. Those dunes received an unfavourable condition assessment in 2018. Local volunteers had already responded by collecting seeds, planting marram grass, installing fencing and adding signage. The new station builds directly on that earlier community effort.
Biausque saw the potential clearly.
