Protecting the High Peak

Ongoing

Planting trees across the High Peak

Trees and shrubs would once have been widespread in the sheltered valleys and cloughs that lead onto the High Peak moors, but changes in land use mean there are few ‘clough woodlands’ left in the area. We're working to create areas where more native trees and shrubs spread up into the valleys and cloughs. This will help keep the valley sides stable and provide shelter and food for wildlife.  

Since the project began in 2013, we’ve planted more than 250,000 trees in the High Peak, made up of native species, including sessile oak, silver birch, rowan, hawthorn and hazel.

These new woodlands will provide shelter and habitat for insects, birds and mammals, and will create more ‘nature corridors’, connecting habitats to encourage wildlife and increasing biodiversity in the area. 

‘The trees will become home to a huge array of wildlife. The new woodland will store carbon and stabilise the soil, helping to reduce the risk of flooding lower down the valley.’ 

– Kait Jones, Area Ranger for the High Peak Estate

Working together

This work was supported by funding from the Forestry Commission and Natural England, but was also made possible by volunteers and members of the public, who joined ‘Muck In’ days to plant trees. We also worked with local school children on a project called ‘Treegeneration’, to plant hundreds of acorns and create future veteran trees.

Ongoing

Helping to create habitats for wildlife

There are lots of different plants, mammals, insects and birds that live on and around the moors. We’re working in partnership with people and organisations to create a landscape that is full of wildlife, and to enhance important nesting habitats for birds of prey. 

Since the project began, we’ve worked to create ideal conditions on the moor for  hen harriers, which have successfully nested in the area in recent years. We’re also monitoring other birds of prey through breeding surveys and specific raptor monitoring, which helps us to better manage the landscape and encourage these birds to breed here. 

The longevity of the project aims to help wildlife to shift and adapt to the inevitable changes that climate change will bring, which will impact where and how wildlife can survive. Like the rocky tors and the peat, the wildlife is part of the moors, and we’re working to protect it for generations to come.

Ongoing

Creating healthy peat bogs

Healthy blanket bogs are essential for maintaining a healthy environment. They trap millions of tonnes of carbon, are a harvesting ground for public water supplies, and provide valuable habitats to protected plants and animal species. 

Bogs become threatened when the peat is exposed, and when it dries out or is worn away. As part of the Kinder Catchment project in the High Peak moors, we’ve now completed a major project to restore the blanket bog by planting vegetation and by blocking gullies to hold water and keep the bog wet. This helps to create a healthier habitat for moorland and wildlife. 

This work was possible thanks to funding from United Utilities and Natural England.

As part of our blanket bog restoration programme we have planted over 220 hectares of sphagnum moss. This plant helps to capture carbon and creates new layers of peat as it grows. It also holds up to 20 times its own weight in water. We have created over 10,000 gully blocks to rewet the peat on the moors, which helps to create the right conditions for peat growth, moorland plants and other wildlife which rely on this landscape.

Ongoing work on the blanket bog

We are continuing large-scale restoration works across the High Peak area to reduce and prevent erosion, increase biodiversity, and improve water quality.

As part of our work, a team of volunteers tracks any changes to the condition of the fences, walls and footpaths to ensure we’re managing the land well. The effects are already noticeable – the water level has risen and areas of bare, exposed peat are now covered in healthy vegetation. This will provide more much needed habitat to a wide range of invertebrates and birds. 

Ongoing

Creating habitats for nature and improving soil health

Thanks to funding from Farming in Protected Landscapes, tenant farmers, rangers and volunteers have worked together to plant trees and shrubs on areas of farmland to create woodland corridor, hedgerow and wood pasture. This will help to make homes for invertebrates, birds and other wildlife, as well as to improve biodiversity. 

In some areas, the trees and hedgerow will also give the farmer more flexibility to manage grazing in a way that will be good for soil and nature, at the same time as providing a mix of tasty things that are great for livestock to eat too.