At Snaizeholme, the Woodland Trust are restoring over 500 hectares of unique and complex habitat in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Around 300 hectares of native trees are being planted to provide a wildlife haven for rare species including red squirrel and black grouse. This will create one of the largest new native woods in England.
As well as tree planting, water management is a priority for conservation activities at Snaizeholme. There are over 100 hectares of upland peat bog at the site, which act to collect rainfall and slow its flow down the valley. Drainage channels are currently undermining this effect and causing rapid erosion and drying of the land, so restoration work is focusing on restoring this bog and reducing the drainage. Alongside plans for peatland restoration, leaky dams will be installed into the 21 streams that run into Snaizeholme Beck, trapping sediment and slowing the flow, while still allowing aquatic wildlife to move freely along the streams.
Supported by UBoC, researchers from the University of Leeds are working across the site to monitor the impacts of restoration on the ability of this land to store carbon and slow the flow of water across the landscape.
