A five-year Lancashire Wildlife Trust project will restore Little Woolden Moss in Irlam and improve other mosses in Salford.

The Carbon Landscape project is being funded by the Nation Lottery Heritage Fund to restore wet meadows, flashes and mosslands across the county, including neighbouring Cadishead Moss.

Project support officer Steve Ormerod said: “We’ve got three aims. The first is to restore derelict landscape. We also want to reconnect people with their own landscape to improve access to volunteering and learning opportunities.

“And, we want to install pride in these people, letting people have ownership of their own landscape in their own area.”

Mr Ormerod said: “We’re also working at New Moss Wood and restoring parts of a woodland back into moss. We’re also working at Cadishead Moss next door to Little Woolden.”

Mosslands,  also called ‘bogs’, reduce risks of flooding since the soil soaks up the water. In a climate as rainy as Salford, this will come in handy.

Mosslands gives flood risk management for flood storage. Bogs store water, they also store carbon. A fully functioning bog stores more carbon than trees, according to Natural England.

The Little Woolden Moss in Irlam. Picture Credits: The Lancashire Wildlife Trust

The National Wildlife Trust states: “By improving and expanding these precious habitats, and building on previous restoration achievements, we are securing a better future for wildlife and local communities alike.”

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust has 14 different partners helping to make this project work by 2023 in Wigan and Warrington as well as Irlam.

Partners include Salford City Council, other parts of Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust.

Councillor Derek Antrobus, a member of the Salford City Council in charge of overseeing planning and developments, added: “It’s one of the most important things that we can do for climate change in Greater Manchester.”

Cllr Antrobus stresses the importance of bogs and their role to store carbon dioxide in the soil and away from our atmosphere.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *