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Aerial Views

From the air, the extent of erosion caused by pollution, overgrazing, summer wildfires and the weather is obvious.

You can also get a great view of the extent of our restoration works, especially on Bleaklow where it can be seen by air passengers flying in and out of local airports.

Airlifting onto Kinder Edge Winter 2010/11

airlifting heather brash onto moorland restoration site

Airlifting bags of heather brash onto restoration sites on Kinder. The heather is spread on the bare peat to protect it and reseed it.

Bare Peat

Since the Victorians first fired up their coal-powered engines, polluted air has been killing off the plants that keep these moors healthy.  Overgrazing, summer wildfires and the weather have also contributed to the problem.

Dam building 2011 - 2012

Helicopter

Moors for the Future put in place almost 5,000 dams at sites in the Peak District. The work  started in November 2011 and finished the following March. Our teams were out in all weathers from bright winter sunshine to snow and driving rain. The results are already visible, with dams slowing down the flow of water.

Fire

Tradiitionally, heather moorland has been shaped by the burning of patches of heather on a rotational basis in the winter months, often carried out by gamekeepers to create favourable conditions for red grouse. Summer wildfires caused deliberately or by carelessness seriously threatens the fragile moorland habitats of the Peak District.

 

Heather cutting

farmer with bags of heather brash

Heather cutting takes place in winter when the seed is ripe. The heather is collected in bags to be airlifted onto the moors where it will help protect and reseed the bare peat.

MoorLIFE at Turley Holes

Turley Holes

This area is home to a variety of moorland plants, such as cottongrasses - sedges which grow in boggy conditions. The fluffy white 'cotton' heads seen in May and June, were used to stuff pillows as an alternative to goose down. A programme of work that includes gully blocking, heather bale blocking of peat pans and spreading of heather brash is planned here.

MoorLIFE on Black Hill

Professor Sir John Lawton and Moors for the Future on Black Hill

Conservation works started on Black Hill in 2003 through the Heritage Lottery Fund scheme and MoorLIFE is building on this work  by re-introducing Sphagnum moss – a key peat-building moss. The moss will be spread onto the moors where it will grow and colonise areas on Black Hill – creating healthy and sustainable peat-forming moorlands again.

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