First-ever moorland nursery opens

Pictured is ranger Francesca Bray with nursery volunteers and members of the Calderdale Sphagnum Project

Rugged peatlands above Saddleworth, ravaged by centuries of industrial pollution, intensive drainage and overgrazing, are now home to the first-ever nursery for moorland plants set up by the National Trust.

Essential native species like sphagnum moss are being cultivated and next month the public are invited to join two harvesting sessions, helping turn trays of home-grown cuttings into plug plants, ready to be planted out on the moor.

“Sphagnum moss is a wonder plant that can hold 20 times its own weight in water, and it’s vital to our moorland conservation work,” says Francesca Bray, one of the rangers who have worked with the Calderdale Sphagnum Project (funded by the National Lottery) to build the polytunnel nursery. 

“Now we have grown our first sphagnum plants, we would love to include the local community in helping to prepare them for planting.

"It’s a great chance for those with limited mobility or fitness, and families, to get involved in moorland conservation without having to clamber about on the moor.”

Francesca’s team of volunteers took the first cuttings from moorland sphagnum this spring and have successfully cultivated more than 20 full trays of sphagnum.

Each will provide around 70 plug plants with this year’s harvest, representing a saving of more than £1,000 for the charity and will cover around 350 hectares of damaged moorland in the next decade.

Rosie Holdsworth, the National Trust’s countryside manager for West Yorkshire, said: ”By restoring our peatlands, we are stopping the release of carbon into the atmosphere as well as providing a lifeline for the rare insect and bird species that are native to this moorland."

With partners including Moors for the Future and Yorkshire Water, the team have worked to restore more than 2,000 hectares of the moor since 2018.

Now, with the new nursery, which will expand to include other native species, that process is set to accelerate.

Rosie added: "The nursery means we can propagate these precious and vital plants in-house, helping funding go further, ensuring local provenance and reducing transportation miles - it's a win-win situation.”

Join the community planting sessions on October 6-10 at Marsden Moor Estate Office, Station Road, Huddersfield HD7 6DH.

To book a space call: 03442 491895 or visit: https://www.nationaltrust-tickets.org.uk/event-tickets/36345

Children are welcome.

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.