Helping Roaches to heal after the 2018 wildfires

Two-year programme complete to help stop erosion and restore nature

- 

SPRING signals the end of peatland restoration season across the Peak District and South Pennines.

This year walkers venturing out onto the hugely popular pathways of The Roaches in Staffordshire will be able to see evidence of the restoration works carried out by the Moors for the Future Partnership over winter, in order to heal this wildfire-scarred landscape.

A spokesperson for the group said: "For some visitors, they will know they personally played a huge role in the restoration of peatland habitat, after getting hands-on at the site to use an innovative sphagnum moss planting technique that could influence future restoration works.

"Following the destruction of 62 hectares of moorland by a large wildfire on The Roaches in 2018, Moors for the Future Partnership have partnered with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust to carry out capital works to rewet and revegetate this delicate landscape, funded by Defra."

This month marks the conclusion of an extensive two-year programme of works under the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme which, in addition to the blocking of erosion gullies on the surface, has included the damming of underground channels, known as peat pipes, which had been allowing fast-flowing water to erode the peat mass from underneath.

Using large piles of gritstone as dams at strategic points, where the peat surface had collapsed exposing the entrance and exit of the peat pipe, the flow of water is now being slowed. This allows silt to collect and build up behind the dams. This will reduce the erosive impact of the channel, prevent sediment being washed off the hill and retain water in the peat mass for longer.

Other works include contracted teams planting large quantities of moorland native species including bilberry, crowberry, cotton grasses, cross-leaved heath, and sphagnum moss in receptive areas, to create more diverse habitats for nature.