The work, funded by Veolia Environmental Trust, will benefit people and nature for years to come, allowing more people to connect with nature as well as allowing wildlife to connect to other areas of the reserve.
Wet woodlands at Little Woolden Moss
Jessica Fung
Out team have been working hard at Little Woolden Moss, improving the condition of vital wet woodland habitat that surrounds the peat, improving the site for willow tits, one of Britain's fastest declining breeding birds.
Willow tit at Pennington Flash © Adam Jones
The site is used by willow tits, one of Britain's fastest declining breeding birds.
Funding has allowed the Trust to assess the condition of the wet woodlands that border the peat at Little Woolden Moss, and to establish what work needed to be done to improve the wet woodlands.
Both wet woodlands and peat bogs are naturally wet areas, so work extremely well together on site - a combination of new ditches and the planting of over 8000 sphagnum plants will help keep the water onsite in years to come, helping the peat restoration and the creating of new habitat for different species of plant and animal.
Work will continue improving the condition of the woodlands over the next five to ten years, providing a more suitable habitat for the willow tits, with more cover and nesting opportunities.
An important part of this work was improving the connectivity to other mossland sites, giving the little birds the opportunity to move around, form new territories and find mates. A brand new sign on site gives visitors a fascinating insight into the surrounding landscape and the wildlife that calls the area home.
Paths have been widened and surfaces improved, allowing better access for all but in particular wheelchair users and families with prams. Plants were overgrowing onto the existing pathways, but they've been removed and replanted in other areas, to help restoration in adjacent areas.
Across the different activities 39 volunteers took part, contributing an amazing 159hrs to the project – a huge thank you to all the volunteers who took part.
People volunteer for different reasons, including their wellbeing - being outdoors, undertaking physical activity, connecting with other people and learning new skills, as well as knowledge about about the habitats and wildlife they support!
This project was funded by Veolia Environmental Trust through the Landfill Communities Fund.
