A thank-you to Moray:- You guys 'dune' good
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Five US Navy personnel have helped clear up an area beside a beach in order to say thank-you to Moray.
The team from VP-9 Squadron – otherwise known as The Golden Eagles – have been on a tour of duty at RAF Lossiemouth.
Looking for a way to show their appreciation for the warm welcome they've received here, squadron member Jeffrey Renteria contacted the charity umbrella group tsiMoray.
This led to him and his colleagues being put in touch with the Findhorn Dunes Trust.
On Good Friday the five military personnel spent the day with an equal number of trust members clearing away gorse and non-native Lodge Pole Pines.
Dr Timothy Finnegan, the trust's convenor, said: "The dune heath at Findhorn is a diminishing habitat for lichen.
"A major cause of this loss of habitat is the overgrowth of the lichen beds by gorse and Lodge Pole Pines.
"These kill the native heather and lichens, some of which are rare.
"The area chosen was a lichen bed measuring 1000ft by 200ft, which had been cleared in the past but where gorse, in particular, was regrowing.
"The work had to be undertaken under the limitations of Covid-19, but it was still a very productive day.
"We were very fortunate to be the beneficiaries of their help."
