West Cumbria's dunes are among Europe's most at risk habitats according to Dynamic Dunescapes Cumbria.

The latest in a series of webinars, by Solway Coast AONB and Solway Firth Partnership, aims to introduce the public to the threats posed to local dunes and innovative approaches to managing them.

The virtual session will take place on Thursday 25 February from 6-8pm.

"Dunes are now the habitat most at risk in Europe in terms of biodiversity loss," said Dynamic Dunescapes Engagement Officer, Eve Mulholland.

"The Dunes are home to many different rare plant and animal species that are reliant on these bare and sandy habitats."

The Solway Coast AONB are are working on the Dynamic Dunescapes project alongside Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

It is an ambitious multi partnership project restoring sand dunes across England, funded by EU Life Programme and National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Ms Mulholland, who is also a guest speaker at next week's event, said: "Over many decades, the dunes have slowly become more overgrown with vegetation.

"This is due to a number of reasons, like loss of rabbit populations and increased rainfall caused by climate change. This is a problem because many of the specialist species adapted to live on dunes rely on the open bare sands."

An increase in atmospheric nitrogen deposition and changes in land use or grazing regimes also threaten the stability of dunes.

Local rare and protected species, like natterjack toads, rely on sand dunes to hibernate and find it difficult to travel through longer and more coarse grasses.

Ms Mulholland hopes introducing people to the wonders that live on their local dunes can help protect them for the future.

She added: "Putting the people at the heart of any kind of conservation project is essential because it helps continue the sustainability of looking after these special places."

Dynamic Dunescapes is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the EU LIFE Programme.

The project is a partnership between Natural England, Plantlife, National Trust, Natural Resources Wales and the Wildlife Trusts.

Find out more about the work done by Dynamic Dunescapes at www.dynamicdunescapes.co.uk.

To register your place for next week's webinar free of charge, visit www.solwaycoastaonb.org.uk/2019/events/.