Find out how we’ve been restoring peatland at Dove Stone on behalf of landowner United Utilities.
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Set high in the Peak District National Park, Dove Stone nestles in a dramatic landscape of windswept moors and blanket bog. This blanket bog is internationally important and took around 5,000 years to form, but over the last 200 years acid rain, burning and overgrazing have left it in a poor state.
Through the Moors for the Future partnership, we’ve been working to restore this dry, degraded habitat to its former squelchy glory with the help of a team of dedicated local volunteers.
Since the beginning of the project these volunteers have contributed an incredible 45,000 hours of their time and planted 1.1 million Sphagnum moss plugs, to help re-establish this important peat-forming plant. This award-winning work, which has been funded by a range of public and private sources, is helping to speed up the recovery of the bog.
We've also installed 40,000 gully blocks and created peat dams, to make the bog wetter again. This not only benefits wildlife, but it also improves the bog’s ability to store carbon, filter drinking water, and reduce the risk of floods and fires. Find out more about this important work, in our short film.
Since restoration work began on the blanket bog at Dove Stone, we’ve seen a fantastic increase in wildlife, with birds like the Dunlin thriving here, as Conservation Officer Tom Aspinall explains.
Even peatland in very poor condition can bounce back when given a helping hand, as these photos of the work carried out at Dove Stone clearly show. Click through the galleries of images to see the end results.
Our work at Dove Stone builds on pioneering and award-winning work carried out by United Utilities between 2005 and 2010, under their Sustainable Catchment and Management Programme (SCaMP).
We're very grateful for the support of our partners and funders, including the Moors for the Future Partnership, Grantscapes, SITA Trust, NIA funding, WREN, MoorLife 2020 (Moors for the Future), United Utilities, the Green Recovery Nature for Climate Fund, and private donors.