Rewilding project aims to restore peatland
Cumbria Wildlife Trust has begun restoring 435 hectares of damaged peatland at Skiddaw Forest in the Lake District. The work aims to improve a major carbon store and help slow water flowing off the fells, which could reduce flood risk for downstream communities while supporting wildlife.
The scheme is funded by a £520,000 grant and is expected to take three to four months. It also includes repairs to a 6km boundary fence, with public access remaining open. The trust expects wetter ground to benefit plants such as sundews and sphagnum mosses, dragonflies and birds including snipe.
In short
- 435 hectares of damaged peatland are being restored.
- The £520,000 project should help slow water runoff.
- Rewetted ground is expected to support plants and wildlife.
Explained simply
Peatlands are wet landscapes formed from partly decayed plants that build up over thousands of years. They store carbon, and when damaged or drained they can release some of it into the atmosphere; restoring them can also help slow water moving downhill.
Skiddaw Forest is a large upland area in the Lake District, where Cumbria Wildlife Trust works to protect habitats and wildlife. Its project is intended to make the ground wetter again, supporting peatland plants and animals while potentially reducing fast run-off towards communities below the fells.
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