Community moss planting day hailed a success at Marsden Moor

The first of two community moss planting days organised by the National Trust on Marsden Moor has been deemed a success, with six volunteers helping rangers plant around 15,000 sphagnum moss plugs.

The volunteer events continue the National Trust’s important work to re-wet the moorland and improve its resilience to fire and flooding – while combatting climate harm through carbon storage.

In total, around 30,000 sphagnum moss plugs will be planted across the two community days.

Sphagnum moss is a peat-forming plant, which can lock carbon deep underground as vegetation remains in the ground due to moisture delaying the decomposition process.

Last Saturday, planting took place near Swellands Reservoir (what3words location: tabs.selling.fruits).

The second community day, today (Saturday, October 1), will take place on the same site.

Rangers will meet volunteers at Worlow Quarry, on Mount Road, Marsden from 9.30am.

Several laybys are available in which to park, and there is a larger parking area near Mount Road’s junction with Manchester Road.

For people arriving after 9.30am, a footpath can be found on the southern side of Mount Road (what3words location: prompting.immune.replaying) and the site is roughly a 20-minute walk from there.

Last year, around 50,000 moss plugs were planted with the help of the local community – including National Trust members and the firefighters who tackled last year’s blaze on two square miles of moorland.

It took fire crews three days to extinguish that fire and the National Trust called in a specialist helicopter team to assist.

It was estimated that repairing the damage would cost around £200,000. Rangers found burnt nests and eggs from ground nesting birds among the fire damage.

Members of the public, the local community and National Trust members donated thousands of pounds to the Marsden Moor Fire Appeal Fund, some of which will be used to pay for the moss plants.

Marsden Moor Ranger Ian Dowson said: “It was great to see so many people turn out for the first community planting day.

"We couldn’t do what we do without the help of volunteers and local people who clearly value this special landscape, which we have to work hard to protect for future generations to continue to enjoy.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for people from the local community to play a part in Marsden Moor’s recovery.

“Sphagnum moss is an incredible plant. It’s like a giant sponge for the moors.

"It can hold ten times its own weight in water, meaning during periods of heavy rainfall, this water is released really slowly.

"This helps to slow the flow of water run-off, reducing flood risk. It re-wets the moorland, which reduces fire risk.

“It also forms peat, slowing the decay rate of organic matter which means carbon that would be vulnerable to being released into the atmosphere is trapped underground.

“Every tiny bit of moss that volunteers put in the ground will contribute to our fight against climate change and help us prevent future fires.”

To sign up and to find out more details, please e-mail: marsdenmoor@nationaltrust.org.uk

For more details about the work, click here

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