The ‘mosslands’ of Greater Manchester were once 35 km² of lowland raised peat bog, a habitat that was home to rare and specialised wildlife, along with soaking up excess rainfall, and storing and sequestering millions of tonnes of carbon. But 99 per cent of this amazing habitat has been lost to drainage for peat extraction and conversion to agriculture. The remaining fragments are isolated and in need of restoration.

Manchester’s mosslands need our help.

Global consultancy and construction company, Mace, is funding an ambitious five-year project to restore 157 hectares of damaged mossland habitat across Greater Manchester, with the aim of bringing biodiversity back to these rare and precious places.

Works will include:

• Scrub management – mosslands should be wet, but once they are damaged and start to dry out scrub vegetation such as willow and birch can take hold, their root systems further drying out the peat. Controlling this can stop the natural mossland plants from being outcompeted and provide the vital first layer that wildlife relies upon. 
• Invasive species control – plants such as bracken and Himalayan balsam can invade degraded mosslands, again outcompeting the native flora. Controlling these species is vital to restoring a healthy mossland.
• Mossland plant introduction – sphagnum mosses, cotton grasses and heathers will be planted to bring Manchester’s mosslands back to life. These native species flourish in the naturally wet and acidic conditions of our mosslands, forming carpets of green, white and pink throughout the year.
• Bog pool creation and improvement – dragonfly and damselfly larva, frogs, toads and a plethora of other amazing invertebrates rely on bog pools, so the project will create new, and improve existing, bog pools across Manchester’s mosslands.

Through the combination of these works, Maximising Manchester’s Mosslands will create habitat to support some of our rarest and most specialised wildlife. Dragonflies such as the black darter, broad-bodied chaser and four-spotted chaser will benefit from the bog pools acting as nurseries for their larvae and nymphs, as will the nationally rare cranefly, phalocrocera replicate.

Speaking of rare, Mace have already funded a feasibility study into the potential reintroduction of the white-faced darter dragonfly. This rare species is only found on mosslands and is locally extinct. It is an indicator species of a healthy peatland, requiring a mixture of bog pools featuring sphagnum cuspidatum moss, bordered by common cotton grass, and with a healthy population of heather close by for perching.

The feasibility study showed that our mosslands require further restoration work before a reintroduction of the white-faced darter could be considered. The study highlighted the areas that require further restoration, which has then fed into the project plan for Maximising Manchester’s Mosslands, whilst also aiming to benefit a whole host of wonderful and important species.

Works will take place across the now fragmented remains of Manchester’s mosslands including at; Little Woolden Moss, Highfield Moss, New Moss Wood, Astley Moss, Pestfurlong Moss and Red Moss.

As a charity we receive no government funding and so the support of environmentally and socially minded companies, such as Mace, is absolutely vital to help support our wildlife and green spaces.

Find out how your business could support our vital work