NEARLY 40 Rye Primary School Year 4 students recently rolled up their sleeves for a planting session with the Friends of Rye Foreshore.
The Friends Coordinator, Mechelle Cheers and shire NatureLinks contractor, Sue Wade, were thrilled with having so many extra pairs of hands to help with a mass planting of indigenous hairy spinifex along the western end of the town beach.
This hardy and quite beautiful indigenous grass helps retain the beach structure by stabilising sand movement.
Teacher, Sandra Emile said students were enthusiastic with having the opportunity to make a difference while learning why the spinifex is better suited to local dunes than the introduced marram grass.
Their teamwork has given Rye foreshore a better chance of withstanding the damage of climate change.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 16 September 2026
