Landscape project aims to boost nature recovery

Scheme will work with farmers and land managers in the South West Peak area

- By Post & Times reporter

A LANDSCAPE recovery project is paving the way to accelerate nature recovery in the South West Peak area near Leek.

The Morridge Hill Country Project is funded by DEFRA's Landscape Recovery fund. The project is led by Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) with support from Staffordshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) and National Parks Partnership UK.

The project started its development phase last summer, laying the foundations for a 20 plus year delivery phase.

After the start of the project additional farmers and land managers opted into the project. This resulted in 21 local farmers and land managers agreeing to be part of the development phase, which covers 2,900 hectares of land. That's an area equivalent to 4,000 football pitches. The land includes privately owned farmland, SWT managed reserves, PDNPA and Ministry of Defence owned land.

This phase of the project will result in proposals for land management changes and capital works developed in collaboration with the farmers and land managers. The project team has met with each farmer/land manager to gather their ideas, aspirations and concerns, so they can be addressed in the proposals. Information about their land, livestock, finances and management methods has also been shared.

The project aims to strengthen the connection between farming and nature in the uplands. The long-term vision is of a landscape in which wildlife is thriving and land managers and hill farmers are rewarded for providing nature a home in addition to farming the uplands.