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Sara Tipler
Bodmin Moor is our largest Section and forms one of the South West’s iconic peat moors that is not only a haven for wildlife but also provides us with fresh water and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by acting as a store for carbon.
Various ditch blocking techniques using sustainable materials (wood, peat, grass and heather) will be adopted on historic peat cuttings, drainage networks and eroding gullies to re-wet peat.
South West Water will work with regional and local organisations, including the Cornwall AONB, to restore 1,680 hectares of damaged peatland on Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor.
Our Primary Purpose is to conserve and enhance Natural Beauty.
Our priority is to lead and support projects which deliver under these four key categories.
Maintaining and improving access bringing health and well-being benefits to society, both locally and nationally and creating a greater understanding of and experience for the numerous people who work in and visit these iconic landscapes.
These iconic landscapes will be restored including of blanket bogs and valley mires.
Restoring the ecosystems that support the recovery of the habitats and associated wildlife.
Increasing carbon storage whilst improving the hydrological function of the peatlands. Improving the quality and quantity of water leaving the moors and helping to store and slow the flow of water, potentially reducing the risk of flooding downstream.
The moors of Bodmin, Dartmoor and Exmoor hold significant regional and national deposits of peat in the form of blanket bogs and valley mires. These wetland habitats are complex ecosystems that support diverse and unique ecology of national and international importance.
Over centuries, human interventions have and still are impacting upon the overall quality and distribution of wetland mire habitats and upland moors. The demise of such wetlands across extensive swathes of the moors has resulted in changes in the moorland ecology, including the loss of iconic species such as dunlin, golden plover, and Sphagnum mosses.
The challenge is to prevent further losses and halt the decline, while improving and restoring these habitats.
Various ditch blocking techniques using sustainable materials (wood, peat, grass and heather) will be adopted on historic peat cuttings, drainage networks and eroding gullies in order to enable re-wetting of extensive areas of damaged peatlands.
To date the project has successfully re-wetted 35 hectares of moor at Park Pitt and Blackadon with another 90 hectares due to be improved. The re-wetted areas are already already supporting mosses, with ponding water encouraging new wader, dragonfly and frog habitats.
We have been working in partnership with South West Water, who have been awarded £2 million from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for a three-year project to restore peatland on the South West’s moors. The support from Defra is matched with funding from Cornwall Council.
The government has handed out £10 million worth of grants in total for such work across England as part of its 25-year Environment Plan.
South West Water will work with regional and local organisations, including the Cornwall AONB, to restore 1,680 hectares of damaged peatland on Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor. Partnerships have been formed on all three moors including landowners, commoners and other interested parties to develop the proposals and this will continue through the delivery of the restoration.
This is an incredible partnership delivering peatland restoration. The peatlands of south-west England are very important for water quality, carbon storage, biodiversity, cultural history, recreation and farming but they are the most vulnerable in the UK to the impacts of climate change, due to their southerly position.
For this reason they need to be prioritised nationally and restored for the benefit of all and future generations. The £2 million from Defra presents a real opportunity to make a significant difference and to deliver sustainable management in these upland river catchments – Morag Angus, South West Water