A strategic partnership has been signed to restore one of Britain’s biggest raised bogs.
Fenn’s Wood is an ancient bog straddling the English and Welsh border near Whitchurch in Shopshire and Wrexham in Wales. The reserve has 18 species of bog moss, as well as many other characteristic bog plants, and is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Ramsar wetland of international importance.
Cheshire landowner Barnston Estate has formed a ten-year alliance with Natural England and Natural Resources Wales.
Work will get underway later this year to begin the process of inverting tree stumps into the peat bog and re-wetting the 72 acres in order to capture carbon at a rate significantly higher than were it a traditional commercial forestry block.
The strategy draws from proven techniques across the UK, such as blocking drainage ditches to raise water tables, restoring hydrology, reviving peat-forming vegetation like Sphagnum, and overall regenerating peatland functionality.
The Barnston Estate has an environmental strategy which includes hedgerow expansion, woodland planting, wildflower meadows and sustainable farming initiatives. It has incorporated peatland restoration into its long-term ambition of nurturing nature and achieving net-zero carbon outcomes.
Estate Manager Ed Barnston said:
“We’re delighted to sign this partnership which will lead to the restoration of an ancient peat bog on the Estate and help to sequester ten times more carbon than woodland.
“As a steward of the land we have a moral obligation to care for the earth and the waterways on the Estate, to engage in responsible farming, to nurture wildlife and to give back to nature.”
Mannon Lewis, Natural Resources Wales’s Strategic Projects lead for the National Peatland Action Programme and Natur Am Byth, said:
“It’s such good news regarding this collaborative approach between NRW and Natural England and a private landowner, the Barnston Estate.
“Working collaboratively to progress nature conservation and peatland restoration, as we have previously done with Natural England at Fenn’s and Whixall, is good for the climate and good for nature.”
Peter Bowyer, Senior Reserve Manager at Natural England, said:
“Natural England are pleased to enter into this partnership agreement with Natural Resources Wales and the Barnston Estate. It will help deliver landscape scale nature recovery and peatland restoration at this internationally important site.”
