Combatting the scourge of moorland fires

The National Trust has been given a grant to arm staff and volunteers with effective “conflict resolution strategies” to tackle illegal BBQs and fires.

The Trust used some of its £2,400 funding allocation from Yorkshire Water’s Community Benefit Fund to hold a ‘Protecting People and Places’ session led by expert mediation, facilitation and training provider, Dave Barrett of Turning Moment.

The session at Marsden Mechanics Hall was aimed at staff and volunteers who come across fire and BBQ use on Marsden Moor.

They may have to avoid, engage or resolve conflict as a result, and the fund will develop the Marsden Moor Community Fire Watch project.

This sees staff and members of the community work together to report fire risks and antisocial behaviour.

Dave, who has trained more than 1,000 people from the National Trust, worked through several scenarios – discussing how, and when, to attempt to engage and de-escalate conflict, or avoid it. 

The session also went into some of the neurological and behavioural reasons for aggression and conflict, and aspects of mental health and wellbeing.

The shared information will strengthen the Community Fire Watch scheme which sees all fires and near misses logged with important information, helping to target future prevention work.

Patrols started in March until September - deemed peak fire season - when there were 22 near misses and nine confirmed fires.

However, none escalated to levels seen during the large-scale fires of 2021 or Easter Sunday 2019 – with the two largest fires, one on National Trust land, in March and no fires logged from May until September 1. 

The year’s 31 incidents is an increase on last year’s 18 incidents (15 near misses and three fires), consistent with a national rise from 247 to 969 wildfires, from 2021 to 2022.

Rosie Holdsworth, the National Trust’s Countryside and Partnerships Manager, said: “Our countryside team and volunteers at Marsden Moor are regularly out speaking to visitors, the vast majority of whom are friendly, amenable and understanding of our cause.

“But being equipped with tools to minimise conflict, should it occur, will give us more confidence to go into situations where people might not be as agreeable, and to know when to step back.

“The session didn’t just focus on BBQs and fire risks, but how best to approach dog owners who take dogs off leads – something we see far too often, which poses a danger to ground nesting birds, cattle and other wildlife, as well as dogs themselves.

“We learned being prepared for conflict is paramount, something which we’ll be feeding back into our ways of working to see where changes can be made.

“This workshop was a great example of how collaboration leads to progress.”

Yorkshire Water’s Amanda Crossfield added: “Our community benefit fund was designed to help organisations making long lasting improvements to land, nature and communities. 

“We granted £2,400 to the National Trust to fund a conflict resolution workshop for its Marsden Moor Fire Watch volunteers team, who work to spot fires before they get out of hand, and who often have to have difficult conversations with members of the public around BBQs and public safety.

“Hotter, drier weather means our peatlands are already under pressure.

"Fires cause damage to the natural environment, destroy habitats, release carbon into the atmosphere and can have a negative impact on water quality for our nearby reservoirs.

“As well as the community benefit fund, we’re working with groups across the region to restore peatland and protect it from damage.”

For more information on Marsden Moor Community Fire Watch, click here

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