Foreshore Protection Management

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Shoalhaven City Council manages 40 beaches with over 220 beach access points that are exposed to a wide variety of coastal impacts and processes.

Our beaches and foreshores throughout the Shoalhaven are all susceptible to impacts from the following key issues:

  • impacts from urbanisation
  • erosion
  • vegetation loss
  • informal beach access tracks.

Council is currently managing these coastal zones to mitigate hazardous impacts and improve accessibility and safety for people, whilst maintaining the natural attraction that our coastline provides for the Shoalhaven community and its visitors to enjoy.

To receive project updates, including ongoing works and community engagement, subscribe through the 'Stay Informed' function on this webpage

To find out more about foreshore management, visit the Coastal and Estuary Management Planning web page.

You can also be involved in building sustainable dune systems through Council's Bush Care and Park Care programs.

Please send any questions you have regarding this project via the 'Ask a Question' tool on this web page.

Shoalhaven City Council manages 40 beaches with over 220 beach access points that are exposed to a wide variety of coastal impacts and processes.

Our beaches and foreshores throughout the Shoalhaven are all susceptible to impacts from the following key issues:

  • impacts from urbanisation
  • erosion
  • vegetation loss
  • informal beach access tracks.

Council is currently managing these coastal zones to mitigate hazardous impacts and improve accessibility and safety for people, whilst maintaining the natural attraction that our coastline provides for the Shoalhaven community and its visitors to enjoy.

To receive project updates, including ongoing works and community engagement, subscribe through the 'Stay Informed' function on this webpage

To find out more about foreshore management, visit the Coastal and Estuary Management Planning web page.

You can also be involved in building sustainable dune systems through Council's Bush Care and Park Care programs.

Please send any questions you have regarding this project via the 'Ask a Question' tool on this web page.

  • Project Update

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    Over the past year, Shoalhaven City Council has successfully completed a series of Coastal Protection works at Shoalhaven Heads in response to significant erosion events that have impacted the site since late 2021. The initiative included beach nourishment activities, ongoing management of fencing, and strategic revegetation efforts.

    The most recent stage of works, completed in October 2023, addressed erosion events impacting public access to the area. Through beach nourishment, weed control, and revegetation, the works complete mitigated immediate risk to public and the coastal environment.

    These efforts were made possible with the support of the NSW Government’s Coast and Estuaries Grant Program, showcasing a 1:1 funding agreement with Shoalhaven City Council. Successful coastal management implemented at this location has ensured successful outcomes for the community and improved resilience of our valued coastal area. Council acknowledges the contribution of all stakeholders involved.

  • Narrawallee and Mollymook Dune Care

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    The natural dune systems at Narrawallee and Mollymook Beaches have been historically affected by coastal erosion events, weed invasion, urbanisation, historical clearing of dune vegetation, vegetation vandalism, and informal beach access tracks. Council is undertaking a dune care project to improve the resilience and biodiversity of these dune ecosystems that will enhance the heath and amenity of Narrawallee and Mollymook Beaches.

    The dune environments at Narrawallee and Mollymook are characterised by low lying shrubs and grasses, with some larger tree species interspersed throughout the hind dune. The dune vegetation at both sites contains areas of the Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) Bangalay Sand Forest. This vegetation community and surrounding areas are being impacted on by woody weeds including Cassia (Senna pendula) and priority weeds such as Bridal Creeper (Asparagus asparagoides) and Asparagus Fern (Asparagus aethiopicus). Works conducted as part of this project will aim to expand and improve upon the condition of these TECs and enable greater resilience for protection into the future.

    Council will be implementing management measures to reduce the large extent of invasive weed presence on these dune areas and will include revegetation with native dune species to increase the native biodiversity of the area and promote healthier, stronger dune systems. To complement these works, maintenance will be carried out on many of the beach access tracks to improve conditions for public use. Initial priority works will proceed up until the Christmas Holiday period (2023/24) and will be followed by six months of maintenance to ensure the establishment of revegetation areas and provide results for long-term weed suppression.

    The target area for the work is the coastal dunes along the length of Narrawallee and Mollymook beaches and will extend inland to allow for weed control and revegetation to take place throughout adjacent TECs.

    This coastal dune management project is being supported by the NSW Government’s Coast and Estuaries Grant Program, with a 1:1 funding agreement with Shoalhaven City Council.


  • Engaging Education at Mollymook Beach

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    Council’s Coastal team thanks community members for their participation in the walk and talk along Mollymook Beach on Sunday 29 October 2023. The walk was led by ‘Fran the Little Tern’ and ‘Pete the Pied Oystercatcher’ and was a fun and educational activity for all ages.

    You can learn more about how dunes and foreshore vegetation mitigate coastal hazard risks by watching these videos.

    To learn more about how Council manages the coastal foreshore visit Coastal Estuary Management Planning.

    To find a Bushcare or Dunecare group near you have a look at Council's Bushcare web page.

    For more information please contact: coastal.management@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au.




  • Mollymook Beach Markets Pop-up Stall

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    Council's Coastal Team will be onsite at Mollymook Beach Markets to chat with the community about all things coastal management.

    Entertaining educators from Eaton Gorge Theatre Company will be at the markets from 9 am to 12 pm spending the first hour walking through the markets in coastal-themed character costumes to encourage people to participate in the educationally fun walk and talk along Mollymook Beach.

    The entertaining educators will lead the walk along Mollymook Beach from 10 am to 12 pm.

    To register for the walk and talk activity along Mollymook Beach, please go to Eventbrite.

  • Our school coastal workshops were a hit!

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    Local school groups jumped at the chance to learn how important our sand dunes and foreshores are to protect our precious coastline at recent workshops.

    Eighty-five students, from three local schools, joined Council’s Coastal Management Unit to explore our foreshores and identify threats to our dunes and how we can protect our dune ecosystem.

    Students also got their hands dirty planting 300 native plant species, from Council’s nursery, at their local beach to help improve the resilience of the dune systems to coastal erosion. During the workshops, two bush regeneration experts shared their knowledge and experiences of how the Traditional Owners use the foreshore. 

    Council would like to thank all the students and teachers who were involved in these workshops.













  • Foreshore Community Education Workshops

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    Shoalhaven City Council invites residents of Mollymook, Callala and Culburra beaches to a community workshop to learn more about their local foreshore.

    The workshop activities include:

    • Indigenous peoples’ values of Coastal Country
    • Importance of dunes
    • Identifying and planting foreshore vegetation
    • Managing cliffs and rocky shores
    • Ways to manage and protect your foreshore including Dunecare
    • Citizen science activities including CoastSnap

    Book into one of the following workshops:

    Where: Meet at Mollymook Surf Life Saving Club - 83 Ocean Street
    When: Tuesday 14 March 2023
    Time: 4pm-5.30pm

    Where: Meet at the Callala Beach Community Centre - 89 Quay Road
    When: Wednesday 15 March 2023
    Time: 4pm-5.30pm

    Where: Meet at at the Nowra-Culburra Surf Life Saving Club - 4 Farrant Avenue, Culburra Beach
    When: Thursday 16 March 2023
    Time: 4pm-5.30pm

    Please email your RSVP to Neil Dufty at ndufty@molinostewart.com.au.

    Technical and Financial assistance for this project is being provided by the NSW Government under its Coastal Management Program.

  • Coming Soon!

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    Updates on this project are coming soon!

    To receive regular updates, subscribe through the 'Stay Informent' tool on this web page.

Page last updated: 12 Jan 2024, 02:35 PM