Regular Tennyson Dunes Group Workdays
The Tennyson Dunes Group holds regular workdays, usually twice a month – the first Thursday of the month and the third Sunday of the month. The exceptions are December (first Thursday and second Sunday).
In the Summer months we meet at the Valerie Wales Community Coastal Nursery in Henley Beach (see map below) to propagate rare plant species. While in Autumn, Winter and Spring will see us sometimes in the nursery, but mainly in dunes weeding and planting. We meet in the main southern car park on Military Rd (see map on the Home page).
We usually start at 10 am, and finish at 12 pm. If the weather is really hot, we may start earlier.
If there are changes to the time and/or place for the activities, e-mails will be sent out to the group before that workday.
Our Activity Calender has the sort of specific activities we might do in any given month.
2024 Workday Schedule
Summer
Thursday 11 January – propagation in the nursery
Sunday 21 January – propagation in the nursery
Thursday 1 February – propagation and the Valerie Wales Community Coastal Nursery Open Day
Sunday 18 February – propagation in the nursery
Autumn
Thursday 7 March – propagation in the nursery
Sunday 24 March – weeding in the dunes
Thursday 4 April – propagation in the nursery
Sunday 28 April – weeding in the dunes
Thursday 2 May -propagation in the nursery
Sunday 19 May – revegetation in the dunes
+ Sunday 19 May – General Meeting and guest speaker
Winter
Thursday 6 June – revegetation in the dunes
Sunday 16 June – revegetation in the dunes
Thursday 4 July – revegetation in the dunes
Sunday 21 July – weeding in the dunes
+ Sunday 21 July – General Meeting and guest speaker
Thursday 1 August – propagation in the nursery
Sunday 18 August – weeding in the dunes
Spring
Thursday 5 September – weeding in the dunes
Sunday 15 September – weeding in the dunes
Thursday 3 October – clean-up in the dunes in preparation for the Open Day
//* Sunday 20 October – Wara Wayingga Tennyson Dunes Open Day *//
Thursday 7 November – propagation in the nursery
Sunday 17 November – weeding in the dunes
+ Sunday 17 November – 2024 AGM and guest speaker
Summer
Thursday 5 December – propagation in the nursery
Sunday 8 December – propagation in the nursery and end of year celebration
Our Activity Calender has the sort of specific activities we might do in any given month.
Recent Events
2023 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
Ongoing Campaigns
Past Events
2022 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
2021 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
2020 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
2019 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
Another awesome event this year at the Tennyson Dunes Open Day, with expert tours and talks by Ali Ben Kahn, Neville Bonney, Murray Townsend, Victor Gostin, Jenna Draper, Peter Matejcic, Chris Daniels, Tim Milne, Sarah Telfer and Christopher Naylor. Peter Hunt from the Malacaological Society ran beach combing tours, alongside Michelle Blewitt from AUSMAP and Caroline Armstrong from Sea Shepherd who conducted a microplastics survey and beach cleanup.
Perhaps the most exciting was Sophie Thomson who led a group of young people to construct our very own native bee hotel.
Many thanks to our expert tour guides for their time, to the many volunteers who helped run the day and specifically to the West Lakes Kiwanis, Animals Anonymous, Bugs n Slugs, the City of Charles Sturt and Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges for their kind support.
2018 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
Another great year at the Tennyson Dunes Open Day, with expert tours and talks by Ali Ben Kahn, Victor Gostin, Jason Quinn, Tim Milne, Sarah Telfer, Christopher Naylor, Catherine McMahon and the Malacaological Society who ran beach combing tours along the foreshore. This year was also our first ever Mini Bio-Blitz, where tour participants were able to help scientists gather information on plant and animal species in the dunes. The data collected is going towards our knowledge base of the dunes and will help us manage them for the future.
Many thanks to our expert tour guides for their time, to the many volunteers who helped run the Bio-Blitz and specifically to the West Lakes Kiwanis, Animals Anonymous, the City of Charles Sturt and Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges for their kind support.
2017 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
This year, not only were visitors treated to guided tours with our ecological experts, coastal kids activities and a market fair, but they also got the opportunity to see the newly constructed Tennyson Dunes Discovery Trail. The trail has a new smart phone app, which you can download from whereever you get your favourity apps. Just search for “Tennyson Dunes Discovery Trail”.
We thank our expert tour guides for volunteering their time – Neville Bonney, Victor Gostin, Peter Matejcic, Tim Milne, Sarah Telfer, Murray Townsend, Catherine McMahon and the Marine Discovery Centre who led the children’s beach combing activity. Special thanks also to the West Lakes Kiwanis, Animals Anonymous, the City of Charles Sturt and Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges for their kind support.
2016 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
We celebrated our 21st birthday in style, with over 300 visitors attending for expert guided tours, coastal kids activities, market fair and the launch of our new plant book. The day also commemorated the one year anniversary of the dedication of the Tennyson Dunes Conservation Reserve.
We thank our expert tour guides for volunteering their time – Chris Daniels, Victor Gostin, Karl Winda Telfer, Peter Matejcic, Tim Milne, Sarah Telfer, Murray Townsend, Catherine McMahon and Lee Grigg. Special thanks also to the West Lakes Kiwanis, Animals Anonymous, the City of Charles Sturt and Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges for their kind support.
2015 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
Over 300 visitors helped us celebrate our 20th anniversary with a huge open day, including guided walks by Karl Winda Telfer, Neville Bonney, Dr Jan Forrest, Assoc Prof Victor Gostin, Prof Chris Daniels, Peter Matejcic, Andrew Winkler and Tennyson Dunes Group volunteers.
The highlight of the day was a Kaurna smoking ceremony and dance by Karl and Karno, together with a dedication by the Minister for Environment Hon Ian Hunter MLC. The Minister declared the Tennyson Dunes a conservation area under the Crown Land Management Act in recognition of its importance in protecting the state’s coastal biodiversity.
2014 Tennyson Dunes Open Day
Every Spring the Tennyson Dunes Group hosts the annual Tennyson Dunes Open Day. It’s a great way to learn about your local dunes. 2014 was no different, with expert guided tours from Neville Bonney and Karl Winda Telfer. It was a huge success with over 200 visitors attending throughout the day – more than double the previous yesr’s count. It just goes to prove that this rare gem in Adelaide’s coastline is very popular and worth protecting.
- download the poster (86 kb)
Past Campaigns
A Proposed Tennyson Dunes Conservation Reserve
The Tennyson Dunes Group held a public forum on Monday 25 November 2013 to discuss the potential for dedicating the Tennyson Dunes for conservation under the Crown Land Management Act 2009. It was standing room only with over 80 people in attendance, including Mark Parnell from the Greens, Michelle Lensink Liberal Spokesperson on the Environment and the now local member and Labor Minister, Stephen Mullighan. Everyone present agreed that the dunes should be protected for future generations. Moreover, we had over 1000 signatures to the petition calling on the Minister for Environment to act to protect the dunes.
With such a show of support, Minister Hunter was keen to protect the dunes and is working towards it. We’re very grateful for his support as well as that of all three major parties. Watch this space for news on the progress of protecting the dunes.
Barrier Dunes and Trapped Wetlands
On Sunday 18 November 2012 the Coastal Ecology Protection Group hosted a talk by Dr Vic Semeniuk on the formation of Adelaide’s coastline and why the Tennyson Dunes are so important geomorphologically. It was a great event and Vic gave a fascinating talk. About 50 people packed into the Rowing Centre at West Lakes to discover what Adelaide’s western suburbs used to be like.
download the poster (1.1 Mb)
