The Trust has been working with mosslands since 1982, when a lease for Astley Moss was secured. Mosslands are a fantastic wildlife habitat; they are hotspots for a wide range of unique and rare species.  You can stumble across lizards lounging on a log soaking up the suns heat, or accidentally step on the squelchy sphagnum's; or if you are incredibly lucky catch a glimpse of the endangered water vole!

Types of Mosslands

There are several different types of mosslands; the two forms the Trust work with are Upland Blanket Bog and Lowland Raised Bog. Upland Bogs, as the name suggests, are found in upland areas and are usually vast in size, characterised by Heather and Cotton Grass. Lowland Bogs developed after the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago; when the glaciers retreated, they left depressions and pools, which eventually filled with vegetation. These ponds were very low in Oxygen, causing the vegetation  to only partially rot, and the by-product is what we call Fen Peat (nutrient-rich peat). Eventually these pools fill in totally and create the ideal home for Sphagnum mosses, an iconic bog species. These mosses grew and died, being succeeded by more moss, eventually forming many hummock layers. These layers produce a dome, covered with rare bog plant species.

The Restoration Process

Restoring mosslands is a long process with many different stages. Activities can vary depending on the time of year. The Summer months are kept very busy carrying out surveys, looking at various species of animals and plants on site, and getting to grips with the complicated hydrology that keeps the bogs wet.

Many of the Trust's sites are former peat extraction sites, which have been stripped of all vegetation and layers of peat have been removed for horticultural use. A major part of restoring a mossland once the Trust has acquired the site is to "re-wet" the bog. This involves monitoring water levels, ditch blocking and creating bunding, a peat barrier to stop the rain water running off into agricultural drains.

How you can Help

There are a number of ways you can help us in our fight to save mosslands:

• Use Peat Free products - As long as there is a demand for peat, then extraction companies will continue to extract it.
• Support our campaigns to stop peat extraction. For up to date information about how you can help our campaign, fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page
• Donate to mosslands - by donating you can help save and restore our mosslands.

If you would like to volunteer to support our work then please get in touch, stating you are interested in working with mosslands:

email us

Call Catherine Haddon: 01772 324 129