PROJECT 001
EPISODES 1 & 2
Our first project supported the ongoing peatland restoration at Kinder Scout in the Peak District National Park.
Kinder Scout, cared for by the National Trust for over 40 years, is very close to the industrial centres of Manchester and Sheffield, and in the industrial revolution, smoke collected over the Peak District and came down as acid rain which killed the vegetation that covers the peatland.
The restoration process includes reintroducing this vegetation, which is mainly Sphagnum moss.
This species of moss can hold a huge amount of water and is effective at reducing flooding in the towns downstream from Kinder Scout.
The restored moorlands will then be able to start taking carbon in from the atmosphere, helping to fight climate change, as well as improving the habitat for a rich array of wildlife and mitigate against wildfires and floods.
Peatlands occupy around 12% of the UK land area. This dramatic landscape provides 70% of the UK’s drinking water and stores a significant amount of carbon. It is an important habitat for providing and regulating ecosystem services, as well as enhancing biodiversity in the UK.
These uplands are an important place for people to come and enjoy the sense of space, which is key to our collective sense of wellbeing.
Moors for the Future Partnership, led by the Peak District National Park Authority, works alongside organisations like the National Trust, works across the Peak District and South Pennine moors to restore and protect these crucial, beautiful and vulnerable spaces.
These moorlands have historically faced considerable environmental degradation and have suffered pressures that severely harm biodiversity, hydrology and carbon storage. Over the last 21 years, Moors for the Future Partnership has raised £50 million of public and private funding to work on over 250 square kilometres of bare and eroding peat to create healthy peat moors that:
Provide a unique habitat for a wide range of wildlife.
Absorb and store carbon – peat is the single biggest store of carbon in the UK, storing the equivalent of 20 years of all UK CO2 emissions and keeping it out of the atmosphere.
Spaces that people have enjoyed for several decades. These landscapes affect us all, whether we enjoy these outdoor playgrounds or we simply drink water from the tap down in the cities, far from these hills. Moors for the Future Partnership is working together to overcome one of the biggest landscape restoration challenges anywhere in Europe.
Find out more about Moors for the Future Partnership here.
are funding Wild Spaces
