Bodmin Moor Peatland Partnership
About
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.
Aim
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.
Project Overview
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.
Aims goals and objectives
Benefits
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.
People
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.
Place
These iconic landscapes will be restored including of blanket bogs and valley mires.
Nature
Restoring the ecosystems that support the recovery of the habitats and associated wildlife.
Climate
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.
Project Detail
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.
Images
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.
Support Us
But we need your help…
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.