Work begins to create Peak District nature haven near Mam Tor and Kinder Scout

Teams have been busy planting trees and shrubs including oak, alder, birch, hawthorn, and rowan at Dalehead near Edale as part of a major conservation project.

This work at the 123-hectare site will lead to more homes for birds like barn owls and tawny owls, cuckoo, woodcock, redstart and tree pipit, as well as small mammals such as voles and hedgehogs and insects like bees, butterflies and moths. It will create a mosaic of habitats from woodland to grassland where wildflowers, fungi, scrub, like holly and gorse, and native trees will grow.

Many of the trees that have recently been planted are in ‘exclosures’ designed to protect them from grazing animals without the need for plastic guards. This will eventually create wood pasture which will providing shade and shelter for animals grazing on the site.

It is hoped that the work will improve the soil and encourage a variety of plants to grow which in time will create a better diet for grazing animals. This will help to capture carbon, whilst making the land more resilient to flooding and drought.

Chris Lockyer, Area Ranger at the National Trust, said: “It’s fantastic to see these trees go into the ground. The planting is essential to give nature a helping hand and to put back what would have once grown here. We’ll be closely monitoring how well the trees grow without plastic guards and what effect the planting has on the health of the soil using this method. We’re hoping to learn from everything we do here and share this knowledge with others."

Ellie Sale and Lewis Middleton, students at Hope Valley Pathways which prepares post-16 students with special educational needs and/or disabilities for life and work, planted some of the oak trees. This is just one of the conservation tasks they’ve been working on as part of work experience and supported internship programmes they’ve been doing with the National Trust ranger team over the last year. Ellie said: “It’s amazing to think that this tiny oak tree I’m putting in the ground today might live longer than me and grow into something huge that other people will see years from now.”

Wetland areas to attract birds like willow warblers and aquatic insects such as dragonflies will be established during the next stage of the project. The team will also be increasing the number of routes people can walk in the area and reopening a nature trail.

As the project develops, the National Trust are expecting to learn and share the knowledge they gain to help tenant farmers and other landowners explore different ways to manage the land for nature and quality food production.

The work at Dalehead has been funded by HSBC UK, Severn Trent Water, The National Trust’s Plant a Tree campaign, the Peak District National Park’s Grow Back Greener programme, and supported by The Woodland Trust.

Find out more about the project at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/our-work-dalehead