The National Trust and Admiral have joined forces in a new strategic partnership that brings together nature conservation and community protection.
Over the next three years, the two organisations will work to restore vital landscapes and raise awareness of how nature-based solutions can help tackle the growing threat of flooding.
With flooding already affecting one in six homes in the UK, and that number expected to rise to one in four by 2050, the partnership will focus on natural flood management to slow water flow, store carbon, and create healthier habitats to make a real difference for people, wildlife, and the climate.
Funded by £600,000 investment from Admiral Group’s Green Fund Initiative, the project will deliver both large scale and targeted restoration work in Eryri (Snowdonia) in Wales, across the Holnicote Estate in Somerset and in the Lake District.
The first of these projects is now underway in Wales, where the National Trust team aims to restore the Migneint blanket bog – one of the country’s most precious and biodiverse upland habitats.
Working at the very peak of the vast Migneint plateau, this ambitious £180,000 project, will restore around 12 hectares, the size of three Principality stadiums, of the most severely eroded peatland at Waen Fraith over the next three years. The area is a rare and precious, protected landscape with the project aiming to deliver powerful benefits for biodiversity, climate resilience, and flood prevention.
Michelle Leavesley, Chief Sustainability Officer at Admiral Group, said:
“We’re investing in natural flood management solutions to strengthen flood resilience for people and nature. For us at Admiral, protecting people’s homes means taking action beyond insurance by building understanding and resilience to the impact of changing climate and extreme weather events.
“This partnership is a perfect example of how we live our purpose, helping more people look after their future, while making a real difference for communities and the environment.”
Peatland Officer at National Trust Cymru, Iago Thomas said:
“Blanket bogs are unsung climate heroes. They lock away carbon, regulate water flow, and support rare wildlife. But in this upland environment where there is no protection from more frequent and extreme rainfall or strong winds the peat is at huge risk of erosion.
“When peat dries out and erodes, it releases carbon into the atmosphere and worsens flooding downstream. The Migneint feeds tributaries that flow into the Afon Conwy, which can flood communities downstream in the Conwy Valley during heavy rain.
“By rewetting the bog, we will literally see the trickle-down impact of it all, with the land absorbing more water like a sponge, slowing water flow, reducing carbon emissions, and creating thriving habitats. The restored habitat will benefit species like curlew, a wading bird in steep decline, which requires softer ground for their young to make it easier for them to feed, as well as invertebrates like dragon flies which need areas of open water. Restoring peat really is a nature-based solution with real-world impact.”
Contractors have begun reshaping the land by reprofiling peat hags (isolated mounds of vegetated peat), building peat dams, and creating ponds to raise water levels. The aim of these interventions is to encourage the return of sphagnum moss, a water-loving plant that kickstarts the healing process and helps form new peat. As vegetation returns, surface roughness increases, further aiding water retention to help reduce flooding downstream.
To help boost this regrowth, volunteers, including young people from Gwersyll yr Urdd Glan-llyn, will join the effort, transplanting thousands of sphagnum moss plug plants sourced from elsewhere on the site, to help revegetate the site. Their hands-on involvement marks the beginning of a wider community movement to restore this vital ecosystem.
“Blanket bogs like the Migneint quietly deliver huge benefits for nature, climate and people,” said Iago.
“Thanks to Admiral Group’s generous support, we’re taking action to restore this precious habitat, reducing carbon emissions, improving water quality, and helping wildlife thrive. It’s a fantastic example of how partnerships can drive positive change for people and the environment.”
Emma Richards, Outdoor Activity Development Officer, Urdd Gobaith Cymru, said:
“It’s inspiring to see young people actively contributing to the restoration of such a vital ecosystem on the Migneint.
“Knowing that peat forms at just 1mm a year – meaning a single metre can take up to 1,000 years to develop – puts their efforts into powerful perspective. By the time today’s volunteers are in their 60s, the peat they helped restore will have grown by around 5cm. This project is a brilliant opportunity to nurture environmental awareness, community responsibility, and pride in Wales’ natural landscapes.”
The project isn’t an isolated effort, building on years of restoration work across the Migneint through the Uwch Conwy project, and contributes to the long-term vision for the Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Together, these initiatives are piecing together a mosaic of healthy peatland, restoring the natural structure and resilience of the landscape for generations to come. Work will pause in the spring to protect ground-nesting birds, with monitoring continuing to assess progress. While the site may look raw at first, visible signs of recovery are expected by summer as vegetation takes hold, and the bog begins to heal.
Ben McCarthy, Head of Nature Conservation at the National Trust said:
“This partnership with Admiral is a landmark moment. It allows us to scale up our efforts and deliver real-world impact; to support biodiversity, build in resilience against extreme weather as well as helping to protect people.
“The Welsh project will see this area of the Migneint return to being a heathy and functional blanket bog – a wetland rich in wildlife.
“Here, working alongside the community, tenant farmers and others, we are demonstrating how this investment in nature will directly circle back to supporting the communities for generations to come.”
Work at the other two sites is soon to get underway with a project to create new ponds, restore rivers and planting alongside river corridors about to start in Cumbria, and the creation of new wetlands at Holnicote in Somerset starting early next year.
