Pakiri Beach is a local gem loved by many. Whether you're a surfer or a stroller, it's the perfect place to spend a summer's day. But Pakiri Beach has been changing over the years due to harmful activity; sand mining. Friends of Pakiri Beach is an organization made up of people who love Pakiri, and they are doing whatever they can to protect it. 

Sand mining at Pakiri causes so much devastation and it’s not necessary given that there are other sustainable sources of sand. Pakiri beach is a much cherished and priceless asset of all New Zealanders, which is at risk of environmental damage, and to its flora and fauna (including NZ’s rarest bird) if further dredging continues. Yet it is the site of the largest single nearshore sand mining activity in the developed world.

This year, the sand miner McCallum Brothers were seeking to renew their consents to mine vast quantities of sand from the waters off Pakiri Beach and Mangawhai. Friends of Pakiri worked hard and their petition to stop this from happening gained nearly 4000 signatures. They also heavily advocated to the community to have their say on the resource consent documents to stop this from happening.

You cannot extract sand from an ecosystem and not forever alter it. That is why it’s called an ecosystem. A community of living organisms and nonliving components interact as a system to thrive and survive. Sand is a vital part of that system. Even if the sand is ‘replenished’, the replenished sand has to come from somewhere, at the expense of sand dunes and foreshores.

Friends of Pakiri work hard to ensure that as many people are aware of this problem as possible, as sand mining is an incredibly damaging activity and not many people are aware of just how big the effect of it is. If you want to know how to help keep Pakiri Beach the beautiful place it is, visit https://friendsofpakiribeach.org.nz/