Cumbria's bog restoration project commended by Wetlands Award (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Cumbria's bog restoration project commended by Wetlands Award

9:09am Friday 20th March 2009 in News By News Release

The huge effort Cumbria Wildlife Trust has put into restoring one of Cumbria's former wetlands has been commended in the national Living Wetlands Awards, run by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).

The project to restore 350 hectares of lowland raised mire or peat bog at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve caught the eye of the judges, who appreciated that the restored bog will, once again, be home to a wide variety of wildlife for everyone to enjoy. Having been used in the 1950 and 60s as an experimental site for forestry, only a few fragments of its rare bog vegetation remained when the Trust purchased Foulshaw Moss in 1998.

Since then, the Trust has endeavoured to improve the habitat for wildlife by restoring it to its original bog-like conditions. This has involved removing 200 hectares of conifers and blocking drains dug by the foresters, which has had a remarkable effect, bringing the water table back to the surface and restarting the bog process.

John Dunbavin, the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Reserves Animals can now move freely over uninterrupted high-quality habitat, assisting migration and increased colonisation. Ospreys now use the nature reserve as a stop off point and it is hoped that in the future they will decide to nest here. Smaller areas of oak woodland have also been restored, a new reedbed area created and boundary fences erected to stop deer from causing damage to mature trees. The reserve is now able to support increased numbers of visitors, with 1,000 metres of marked trails.

Justin Taberham, CIWEM's Director of Policy and a judge for the Living Wetlands Award says:"CIWEM' s Living Wetlands Award celebrates multi-functional projects that demonstrate the sustainable use of wetland habitats. We are delighted that Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve has received a Commendation as it is a wonderful project that works hard to benefit wildlife and the community alike."