A HELICOPTER flew high over Saddleworth’s glorious hills last month spraying a trail in its wake…
The unusual sight was photographed by reader Michael Fox, who spotted the helicopter flying around Pots and Pans and thought it was spraying Asulam to keep down bracken.
It was, in fact, part of valuable regeneration work by the Moors for the Future Partnership to bring new life to the moorland, including a large area devastated by wildfire in April.
Eight hundred acres of grassland and up to 50,000 trees were consumed by the blaze, which fire crews, mountain rescue teams and volunteers battled for six hours.
The helicopter was spreading dwarf shrub seeds, including heather and cross-leaved heath as part of the ongoing moorland conservation programme started in 2010.
This latest development is part of the Higher Level Stewardship scheme which runs to May 2016 and is funded by Natural England.
Richard Pollitt, Natural England’s Conservation and Land Management Adviser for the Dark Peak said: “Saddleworth Moor is home to one of England’s most precious habitats – the deep peat of the blanket bog.
“Sadly these habitats have got worse over many years and if we want to keep them then we need to protect them and improve them – happily that work is now underway.”
Work includes stabilising and re-vegetating bare peat, improving hydrology and diversifying existing vegetation, achieved through measures including gully blocking, spreading heather brash and reintroducing a peat forming moss called Sphagnum.
Matt Scott-Campbell, Project Manager from the MFFP, added: “The work is vital to help improve the condition of SSSI blanket bogs habitats.
“Through our Private Lands Project we use our expertise to assist and work with landowners, tailoring our efforts to each individual site to protect the fragile moorland.”
Also involved in the work is Hannah Howard, of Hannah Howard Gardening, who is harvesting sphagnum from bogs and re-planting it into the restored and gully blocked areas.
For more information about Moors for the Future Partnership projects go online: www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk
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