Lake Huron shoreline residents and visitors to the lake owe a lot to Blyth resident Geoff Peach, who passed away on January 28 after battling cancer. He was 54.
Peach was a co-founder of the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation and a strong proponent of the preservation of the fragile beach and dune ecosystem all along the lakeshore, and especially at Sauble Beach.
"The Town of South Bruce Peninsula's innovative Dynamic Beach Bylaw grew out of a multiphase Beach Management Plan developed by Geoff and his colleagues," says Keith Brownlee, a director of Friends of Sauble Beach (FSB). "FSB fundraised over the years to hire Geoff and his organization to come up with a plan that would ensure the beach would remain viable for future generations."
The partnership between FSB, the town and the Coastal Centre has steered much of the research on beaches to Sauble.
"It was Geoff who worked with us and the town to mitigate dune blowouts, by limiting beach access to specially constructed walkways, and to minimize loss of sand to Lakeshore Blvd. and residents' front lawns by letting beach grasses grow on the dunes and on the beach adjacent to the dunes,” says Brownlee.
The plants trap the wind-blown sand.
Peach also recommended a system of sand fencing at critical sand blow-out areas.
"Like the beach grasses, sand fencing works the same way as snow fencing, trapping the sand before it leaves the beach. It's been standard practice at most of the world's premiere beaches for years," said Brownlee. "And thanks to Geoff, it was introduced to Lake Huron beaches as well."
The town and other shoreline residents have saved tens of thousands of dollars by not having to remove sand from roadways and lawns since the beach management plans were implemented; not to mention the loss of sand from the beach each year.
Brownlee says sand scraped from the roadway could not be returned to the beach because it was "contaminated."
Environmental education was very important to Peach, especially when it came to the stewardship of Ontario's west coast.
Brownlee says FSB held a number of seminars and workshops over the years and "Geoff was always ready and able to help with the planning and participate as a keynote speaker."
The FSB executive is considering a lasting memorial to Geoff at Sauble Beach. An announcement will be made this spring.
- This article was contributed by Terry Diggle, director of Friends of Sauble Beach.