We are working with Forestry England at Barlow’s Farm, it is part of the wider Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery Scheme, restoring habitats and protecting wildlife across the borough.

Historical maps for Victoria Fields from the early 1900s show wetland which has been lost due to building and land reclamation. 

The area is close to a drainage ditch and a river channel, both of which hold relatively recent records for water vole. This could be an important refuge and foraging area for water vole, as well as creating new habitats for dragonflies and damselflies, frogs, toads and newts, water insects, birds and other mammals.

The work involves creating bunds or natural barriers to hold the water in the area, requiring some heavy machinery.

By retaining water within the landscape of Victoria Fields and Barlow’s Farm, we can slow-the-flow of water entering the main river network and alleviate potential flooding in Environment Agency local flood risk areas. 

Wetland or pond creation projects here would also act as an additional stepping stone habitat between the flashes at Pennington, Bickershaw, Low Hall and Amberswood, helping to the make the landscape more joined-up for the species that may commute between these sites, and enabling the movement of individuals and gene-flow across the borough.