Living on a dune system
Coolum's defining feature is the dune and the vegetation holding it. Coastal she-oak, coastal banksia, tuckeroo, cottonwood and pandanus form the frontal community, and they are not decorative - they are what stops the sand moving.
That vegetation is protected, actively managed, and off limits. The most common conversation we have in Coolum is explaining that the scrub between a house and the water is not the owner's to thin, no matter how much it has grown into the view.
What we do work on is everything inside the property boundary, which on Coolum's older beachfront blocks is often quite full: Norfolk pines, self-seeded cocos, mature tuckeroo and a lot of umbrella tree.
Salt and wind
The wind here is relentless and it comes loaded with salt. Foliage on the seaward side of any tree in the first few streets back gets burnt and drops, the tree grows away from the wind, and the result is a permanently lopsided canopy sitting on a root system in shallow sand.
Rebalancing that canopy through reduction is the single most useful piece of preventive work available on a Coolum block. It reduces the sail area and the lever arm at the same time.
Mount Coolum side
Inland of the highway around Mount Coolum and up towards Yaroomba the conditions change. Better soil, more shelter, bigger trees - eucalypts, paperbark through the low ground, and remnant vegetation on the mountain's lower slopes that carries planning scheme overlays.
Blocks are larger here and access is usually good, which makes the work considerably cheaper than the equivalent job on a beachfront lot.
Storm season
Coolum takes the full brunt of the summer cells coming in off the water and, occasionally, the tail of a tropical low tracking south. After a big event the calls are uprooted trees rather than broken limbs, because shallow sandy anchorage gives way before the timber does.
The work that prevents it is unglamorous: reduce end weight, remove deadwood, and take out the tree that has already started to lean before it decides for itself.
Getting a quote
Ring (07) 5408 6029. Be clear about whether the tree is inside your boundary or in the dune reserve - it changes who you need to talk to. Nearby: Peregian Beach, Maroochydore, and the local rules.
Frequently asked questions
Can I clear vegetation between my house and the beach?
Almost certainly not. Frontal dune vegetation is protected as coastal management land, and it does structural work holding the dune together. Removing or thinning it to improve a view is the sort of thing councils in this region enforce against actively, and the penalties are substantial.
My pandanus is dying from the top down. What is it?
Most likely pandanus planthopper, which has caused widespread dieback along this coast. It is an insect problem, not a pruning problem, and cutting the crown out will not fix it. Treatment and monitoring are the response, and a dead pandanus in a public dune area should be reported to the council rather than removed privately.
Does Coolum come under Noosa Council?
No. Coolum Beach, Point Arkwright, Yaroomba and Mount Coolum are all Sunshine Coast Council. The Noosa Shire boundary is further north around Peregian, so the rules that apply here are the Sunshine Coast Council planning scheme, not Noosa's stricter regime.