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Summary review of the Marches Mosses Conference
September 23, 2022
Harper Adams University recently organised and hosted a conference on behalf of The Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project. Taking place on 20th July 2022, the conference aimed to discuss the lessons learned from the project, whilst also learning the barriers within conservation and agriculture. Harper Adams have produced an extensive report into the findings of the conference, detailing the abstracts of the presentations and the outcomes of the workshops and networking opportunities.
Richard Grindle, CEO of Shropshire Wildlife Trust, provided a nice summary: “What is certain is that we need to combine the three pillars of sustainability: Social, Economic and Environmental. Farmers have to find ways of producing food at a profit whilst protecting and restoring nature. Conservation can only work in the context of a farmed landscape, and in partnership with land managers. And both can only succeed with the support of the wider population.”
Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project shortlisted for International Award
September 6, 2022
The Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project has been shortlisted for the 2022 Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) People’s Choice Award. The standard of competition for the awards is very high, showcasing the best of civil engineering projects that have a positive impact on local communities, economies and society as a whole.
This year, The Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project is just one of 6 projects that have been shortlisted internationally for the award. The public vote opens at 10:00pm (UK time) on Tuesday, 6 September for six weeks, closing at 17:00pm on Tuesday, 18 October. The winner will be announced soon after voting closes. Members of the public can get behind their local community and vote for the project here: https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/what-do-civil-engineers-do/marches-mosses-boglife-project/
Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England and Natural Resources Wales have been working to restore 665 hectares of the Marches Mosses during the 5 year project. The Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve collectively form Britains third largest lowland raised peatbog. A habitat which holds more than 1 million tonnes of Carbon, which is 10 times more than the equivalent area of rainforest.
Successfully restoring such a vast area of peat bog has taken an incredible amount of effort from a vast number of groups: Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England and Natural Resources Wales have worked with WM Longreach, Brian Killingworth, WSP, and RAB Consultants to name a few. It has been a huge community effort to achieve the projects goals from vast amounts of volunteered hours and also work with disability advocates to ensure all audiences have access to nature.
On the 25th of July, Simon Baynes MP paid a visit to the Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project. Two thirds of the Mosses falls in his constituency of South Clywyd, so it was a great opportunity for him to learn about the rich history of the site and see the work being undertaken to restore the peatland. It’s a good example of where nature based solutions are helping to address climate change and flood risk.
On the day, Simon was accompanied by Robert Duff and Pete Bowyer from the project, who showed him the fantastic panorama view across the Mosses at the recently opened Mammoth Tower, and he also stated that he was impressed by the new visitor facilities.
Simon Baynes MP visiting the Mosses
Restoring Lowland Peatland for Biodiversity & Carbon Conference
July 20, 2022
On Wednesday 20th of July, Harper Adams hosted a conference supported by the EU LIFE Programme and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The conference was aimed at farmers, volunteers, academics and practitioners working in peatland and carbon management. The day was a great celebration of the work done throughout the BogLIFE project, and the collaboration between Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
As the project draws to a close, this conference not only looked at the lessons learned and the restoration achieved, but also looked into how best to manage these habitats for the future. Through the knowledge gained from the project, it has highlighted the importance of maintaining and restoring lowland peatlands across the UK. Some such benefits discussed at the conference included the impact of carbon sequestration and the improvement of ecosystems as a result of restoration.
There were many speakers at the event, which was hosted by Dr. Julia Casperd and Dr. Simon Jeffery of Harper Adams University. Dr. Renee Kerkvliet-Hermans from the IUCN UK Peatland Programme discussed the Peatland Code; while Dr. Brown and Kate Mayne from the North Shropshire Farmers Group spoke about peatland restoration opportunities from a landowners perspective. Scott Kirby, the Future Farm Manager at Harper Adams university also discussed the barriers to regenerative agriculture, and Robert Duff, the project manager for the Marches Mosses BogLIFE project outlined the importance of peatland restoration for nature. Finally, Dr. Chris Field of the Manchester Metropolitan University and Professor Fred Worrall from the University of Durham talked about The Carbon Farm and Carbon modelling at Whixall Moss respectively.
Dr. Brown of North Shropshire Farmers Group
The conference was a hybrid event, which meant that these key topics could be explored both in person and online. A range of audience was present, including a number with academic and agricultural backgrounds, as well as several from carbon and conservation organisations. In the afternoon, there were various workshops, which aimed to configure the best practices for carbon storage and sequestration, and for nature and ecosystem services.
As a result of the conference, there were many barriers and challenges discussed, with several take home messages, and a sense of a further need for better collaboration between farmers, conservation organisations and the agricultural sector.
Charles Sinker Fields Bird Hide officially opened
July 14, 2022
On Thursday 14th of July, the Charles Sinker Fields bird hide was officially opened as part of Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s 60th anniversary celebrations. This latest of a number of facilities installed on the mosses was funded by the EU LIFE Programme and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as a generous donation from the Shirra family.
The event began at the old scrapyard with a chance to meet others involved in the bird hide installation and visit several stalls relating to the project. There was information on the scrapyard restoration, a chance to watch the project’s virtual reality film and a “bog box” to show people what the Mosses look like up close, a representative from the Trust’s showcase Feed the Birds Project and art from the Mosses and Marshes Project. The group then moved to the bird hide for the official opening speeches and ribbon cutting. The ribbon was cut by Graham Walker of the Shropshire Ornithological Society and Sarah Jane Lamb, an adviser and advocate with lived experience of disability. To quote Richard Grindle, CEO of Shropshire Wildlife Trust, “The aim was to create a facility for birdwatching, but also to create something that increases access for people with disabilities”.
Cutting of the ribbon by Graham Walker and Sarah Jane Lamb
Anna Martin, Marches Mosses Events Officer, had this to say about the opening: “It was great to celebrate this fantastic new bird hide. There have been so many people involved in making it possible and it was wonderful to bring them together to share the end results. This bird hide is for everyone. We are grateful to the birdwatching community for their insight about the area and their support. We are also thankful to the support of people with lived experience of disability and disability advocates who advised us on making the hide wheelchair accessible and more inclusive. It is great to have a new nature reserve which creates a haven for wildlife, whilst also giving people a chance to connect with the natural world”
The Hide was built by the talented Helen Shackleton and Lloyd Turner https://www.wildmurals.co.uk . Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts was heard saying “I have never seen such a beautiful looking bird hide”.
Inside the Bird Hide
The nature reserve that the hide looks out on is named in honour of Charles Sinker, a passionate conservationist who recognised the unique nature of the Meres and Mosses and campaigned for their protection. Charles Sinker Fields is one of the best sites for wildfowl and wetland birds in North Shropshire. The land is important edge habitat for Whixall Moss, called lagg. This type of marginal land has been eliminated from almost all British raised bogs, making these works of considerable importance. From the hide you can see curlew, lapwings, starling murmurations and many more dabblers and waders.
For its 60th Anniversary, Shropshire Wildlife Trust have been hosting several other events throughout July, including a recent guided walk and picnic on Earl’s Hill, which was their first nature reserve. There are also several more events at their visitor centre in Shrewsbury, and a special limited edition 60th Anniversary members welcome pack for members joining in July 2022. More events can be found on their website: https://www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/SWT-at-60
Collaboration video shows mosses to schools
July 7, 2022
Earlier this year, Anna Martin from Shropshire Wildlife Trust collaborated with Church In Wales for one of a series of videos being shown to their 52 Diocesan Schools. Church In Wales have produced four videos as part of an Earth, Wind, Fire and Water series. These elemental videos focused on ecological and spirituality issues, discussing how to look after our Earth. For their “Earth” video, they interviewed Anna on the Marches Mosses to teach the schools all about peatland and its importance.
In the video, Jonathan and Esther from Church In Wales introduce the video series, which is followed by a song and then a tour from Anna. She discussed how peatland is one of the rarest habitats on Earth, covering only 3% of the Earth’s surface. Despite this, it holds more carbon than all of the world’s forests. This is largely due to Sphagnum moss, which can hold up to 20 times its weight in water, and forms just 1cm of peat over a 10 year period.
Anna discusses how important the peatland is important to local biodiversity, how it formed 12,000 years ago and has served as a spiritual site throughout the Iron and Bronze Ages. She talks about the impacts of peat cutting, particularly by machine, which led to the collapse of 10m high peat domes, which after the removal of peat there is now between 5m and 3m height throughout the site. The Marches Mosses were made a National Nature Reserve in 1990, and now are being restored through the BogLIFE project. The mosses serve as a great place to connect to nature.
Conference – 20th July 2022: Restoring Lowland Peatland for Biodiversity & Carbon: Lessons from The Meres and Mosses
July 20, 2022
*This conference is now at capacity. From now on, signups will be for online attendance via Teams.*
On Wednesday 20th of July, Harper Adams will be hosting a conference that is supported by the LIFE Programme of the EU and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The conference is free to attend and will take place between 8:30 to 5pm, featuring talks, workshops and refreshments. The conference is aimed at farmers, volunteers, academics and practitioners working in peatland and carbon management. There will also be a pre-conference site visit to the Whixall Moss on the 19th July.
Please read the below poster and program for further information. If you have any queries please contact Julia Casperd on +44 (0)1952 820280 Ext. 5282. Book your place through this link: https://forms.office.com/r/UekXLXQJ9i .
On May 5th, the Marches Mosses BogLIFE Project was given two awards during the West Midlands Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) awards. Presented by ICE president Ed McCann and West Midlands regional chairwoman Vicky Bache, one was the Sustainability Category award, and the other was the Project of the Year award.
Midlands regional director Jo Barnett said: “Congratulations to all the project teams and individuals recognised in our awards this year. Judges also commented that BogLIFE was an exemplar in terms of sustainability and planning for the future and therefore fully deserved the project of the year award.
The awards were given for the work carried out by WM Longreach and supported by Natural England and the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Brian Killingworth, WSP and RAB Consultants. In particular, judges were impressed by the projects ability to attract visitors to the area, providing education opportunities and encouraging volunteers.
Globally, over 96% of lowland raised peat bogs have been destroyed, making them one of the rarest habitats on Earth. This is why the work being done to restore the Marches Mosses is so important, and collectively, the mosses form the third-largest lowland raised peatbog in the UK.
Planting 8000 Cotton Grass Plugs
April 7, 2022
Photo Credit: Nathan Brake
On Thursday 7th April, a team of Natural England staff and volunteers managed to plant 8000 plugs of Cotton Grass in an effort to restore the bog habitat of the Fenn’s, Whixall & Bettisfield Mosses. This has been undertaken as part of a larger multi-million pound project called Restoring Marches Mosses BogLIFE. Funded by an EU LIFE grant and a National Lottery Heritage grant, the project aims to restore Britain’s third largest lowland raised bog.
The 8000 Cotton Grass plugs were placed over two compartments of the bog which had been bunded. Bunding is a restoration method which involves repacking the peat in a linear format, building compartments which slows the flow of rainwater of site and allows for wetter and better mosses. This was done on trial fields, the Wakelings field and the Shropshire Wildlife Trust Field, with the aim of seeing how the addition of bog species to sites helps to restore them to bog habitat.
Cotton Grass and Hare’s tail are two common species in a healthy bog, so planting is a great way of encouraging uptake and promoting better bogs. These two species are being planted in different combinations, meaning that vital information can be gathered towards the effects and success of the grass.
Another huge benefit of planting the Cotton Grass, is because it is considered a companion plant to Sphagnum, aiding in its development. Growing sphagnum stores water and prevents the decay of dead plant material, which in turn develops peat, which is of great importance in capturing carbon. The benefits of sphagnum and peat doesn’t stop at carbon storage however, as it also lowers the bog pH which contributes to the specific bog conditions, making sphagnum a great ecosystem engineer.
Nathan Brake, who set up and coordinated the planting, said this of the project: “We are hoping that the cotton grass we plant will take hold and create better nursery conditions for the sphagnum plants, planted in 2020-2021. This will move the area back towards its original boggy conditions and allow endemic moss species to thrive. It will also provide lessons for us and other land managers who may wish to restore sphagnum communities on degraded bog in future.”
Peatlands are amongst the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. Not only are they vital for carbon sequestration and fighting climate change, but they reduce flood risk and support biodiversity. The work done planting the Cotton Grass is a major step towards restoring the mosses, and for educating us along the way.
