Moor Piece

Some days I believe I have one of the best jobs in the world. Visited some projects today to monitor progress of how our money is being spent. One such scheme is the rewetting of a woodland peat bog on the edge of the Forest of Bowland. Over the years it has been drained and parts planted with conifers. The untouched bits have dried out as a result and the habitat is becoming degraded. What you can see here is one of the drainage ditches being blocked. First you dig a big trench across the ditch down to the clay, then fill the ditch with cut logs from the surrounding conifers mainly, Larch, then backfill with peat. The wood doesn't rot in the acid conditions. This raises the water levels and the bog gets wetter. The wetter it is the better for the peat loving plants, animals and birds.