Environmental monitoring results: Burbage temperature

Another one of our monitoring sites is Burbage. Volunteers have collected environmental monitoring data here since 2015. As the frosty season starts, let's look at the monthly and seasonal temperatures and see how they have varied over the past couple of years.

Thanks to Andy Burn for producing these graphs, and thanks to our volunteers for getting out in all weather!

Environmental monitoring results: Chatsworth data

One of our newest environmental monitoring sites is Chatsworth. Set up last year, our volunteers have been collecting temperature, humidity, and water table depth data. As it's too soon to compare yearly or seasonal data, let's have a look at these three variables together.

Thanks again to Andy Burn for producing these graphs. We look forward to seeing how this year's data compares.

Environmental monitoring results: Holme water table

In our last couple of posts we looked at the temperature and humidity changes at Holme Moss. The last set of data for this site is the water table depth - how far below the surface of the ground the water table is. In a healthy bog, the closer to the surface the better!

Thanks again to Andy for producing these graphs which show the changes monthly and seasonally for 2016 and 2017.

Environmental monitoring results: Edale rainfall

In our last post we showed the water table data and how this changes by month and season. One big factor contributing to these changes is of course rainfall. Here we have the monthly and seasonal rainfall averages for the last 4 years.

With the rainy season just around the corner, will we be in for another wet winter? Or will it be one of the drier ones? Our volunteers will be out this week starting the annual dipwell campaign, adding to our dataset so we can follow trends across time.

Big thanks again to volunteer Andy Burn for producing these graphs.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...11 bags for brashing,

 

One of the first stages in the bare peat re-vegetation process carried out by Moors for the Future Partnership, is to spread chopped heather - known as 'brash' - on to the peat surface. After being flown to site by helicopter in one tonne bags (such as those pictured), the brash is spread by hand to form a lattice over the surface. The contents of each bag should cover about 50 square metres when spread. The brash forms a barrier to reduce erosion from weather, and also contains the seeds of heather and any other plants present when it was cut, plus moss fragments and spores. The brash layer is crucial in stabilising the peat surface. Without it, seeds would be washed away before they had chance to germinate.

 10 geese migrating,

 

 

9 plants a-pluggin',

 

 

8 Sphagna growing,

 

 

7 sites now set up,

 

 

 

6 leaves a-prickling,

 

 

5 red deer!

 

 

4 hare prints,

 

 

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...9 plants a-pluggin',

 

Moors for the Future Partnership's work to re-vegetate the blanket bogs of the Peak District and South Pennines has involved hand planting hundreds of thousands of 'plug plants'. These are small plants of species including bilberry, crowberry, cross-leaved heath, cloudberry, common cottongrass, hare's tail cottongrass, and Sphagnum mosses.

8 Sphagna growing,

 

7 sites now set up,

 

 

 

6 leaves a-prickling,

 

 

5 red deer!

 

 

4 hare prints, 

 

 

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

A volunteer celebration walk

Dec 8th 2017 saw our hardy volunteers wrap up for a celebratory walk on to Kinder Scout.

What were we celebrating? Well, not just that Christmas is coming. This social event allowed us to salute Community Science's brilliant volunteers for all their fantastic efforts through the year, and also to thank them for helping the project to win this year's prestigious 'Park protector Award' - awarded by the Campaign for National Parks.

Volunteers were joined by Peak District National Park CEO Sarah Fowler, and Head of Programme Delivery at Moors for the Future Partnership - Chris Dean - who was also celebrating 15 years at the Partnership.

At the plateau, Phil from the Partnership's Conservation and Land Management team talked about some of the wider conservation work that has been happening in the area, but the -14C windchill meant the stop was short and sweet! 2017 has been a great year for the project, and the snowy views and mince pies were a perfect way to round it off.

Making conservation engaging - a volunteer view

Guest blog post by volunteer Jackie Wragg

A crucial part of any conservation effort is public engagement. Over the summer I have volunteered with Moors for the Future Partnership to aid them in this effort. Is my motivation totally selfless? Not at all. Although I take great fulfilment from raising awareness and inspiring people to value the habitats and rally for the cause it isn’t the only benefit. It’s the invaluable experience to hopefully lead me into my future career in a rewarding role in conservation. This experience is the key to my dream job!

Comma butterfly photograped at Longshaw Estate

The unaccommodating yet spendid Green Leafhopper!

Over the summer Moors for the Future Partnership performed a “takeover” of the Moorland Discovery Centre at the Longshaw Estate every Thursday. Volunteering here gave me the opportunity to set up and run a range of activities many of which were aimed at engaging children in the different species that can be found in our local uplands.

The staff are so appreciative of the help and keen to listen to new ideas and put them into practise. The chance to be part of a team setting up an engaging experience for members of the public is something I would not have access to without volunteering. Not to mention the chance to take children out on a bug hunt in the surrounding area and the opportunity for a spot of wildlife photography at the same time. I have developed a serious obsession with getting the perfect picture of the beautiful yet unaccommodating Green Leafhopper (Cicadella viridis) thanks to seeing so many of them during my time at the Moorland Discovery Centre. They’re so quick it’s almost impossible to capture their splendidness on camera!

In addition to this “Bogfest”; an event I was truly proud to be a part of. I was chosen to provide a port-of-call for visitors to this international gathering in partnership with the IUCN at the Moors for the Future Stall. This was a fantastic opportunity to network with people working within the field and also provided some experience of working to engage different audiences such as professionals and landowners.

I intend to do much more volunteering for Moors for the Future. There is no doubt that people who volunteer are valued greatly and I look forward to more events where I can be a part of the Moors for the Future mission.

Dog's Vomit!

A great find from a Community Science volunteer - This yellow blob is actually 'Mucilago crustacea' a slime mould known as dog's vomit (or dog's snot)! 

It was photographed by Julian Barber as he helped with the annual vegetation monitoring at our site on the Roaches in the South West Peak. 

Dog's vomit encrusts over vegetation -  starting off this almost luminous yellow colour, before turning white and then black within 24 hours as the spores mature.

Photo competition display - on tour!

Images on display in Bakewell Gallery

A display of the winning, runner-up and selected short-listed photos from our 'water in the uplands' themed photographic competition is now touring venues throughout the summer and into autumn. You can visit the exhibition at the venues below; and we will add more dates to the list when new venues are confirmed.

26th May - 9th June: Gallery Oldham
9th June - 23rd June: Totley Library
23rd June - 7th July - Bakewell Tourist Information Centre
7th July - 21st July - Sheffield Central Library
21st July - 4th August - Marsden Moor Exhibition Centre (National Trust)
4th August - 18th August - Brownhill Countryside Centre, Greater Manchester
18th August - 1st September - Hayfield Library
1st September - 15th September - University of Sheffield -Western Bank Library
15th September - 23rd September - Edale Visitor Centre and 'BogFest'

Autumn cloud inversions

Autumn is a fantastic time of year to witness some stunning scenery and landscapes - and perhaps one of the very best sights is a cloud inversion:

Above is the view of Edale valley from Mam Nick yesterday. Inversions like this need specific conditions to form. They are most likely to be seen in early morning when a layer of saturated cold air becomes trapped underneath a layer of warmer air higher up the valley sides.

The inversion was still visible from Kinder Scout later yesterday morning as Community Science volunteers headed to the Environmental Monitoring site:

Looking back towards Edale - Rob Westrick

Remnants of cloud still visible in Edale from higher up the hill - Rob Westrick

From the plateau cloud could be seen still clinging to the Hope Valley in the middle distance; while the crystal clear upper layers of air allowed a stunning view for miles:

View from Kinder - Richard Walker

Bleaklow timelapse sequence

These fixed point photos, taken over the last 13 years, show the return of vegetation to Hern Clough on Bleaklow, Derbyshire - one of the sites where Moors for the Future Partnership have carried out conservation works:

2003 - the site is largely bare peat and exposed mineral soil

 

 

2005 - after initial treatment with heather brash, lime, seed and fertilizer the grass 'nurse crop' is in evidence. Note the empty brash bags awaiting removal.

2008 - repeat treatments have allowed the nurse crop to become established, knitting the peat surface together.

2010 - the nurse grasses have almost completely covered the bare peat, and there is evidence of other plants becoming established.

2013 - the area of exposed mineral soil is noticeably reduced and there are signs of dwarf shrubs like heather growing.

2016 - the dwarf shrub coverage has increased as can be seen by this heather in flower.

Watch a video of the re-vegetation so far...

From Black Hill to Green Hill

Guest blog post by Gordon Hallas

Alfred Wainwright wrote “Black Hill is well named”. What would he say today?

These photos were taken between 1976 and 2016, demonstrating the changes Black Hill has undergone, starting with this photo taken on a summer’s day in 1976.

 

Holme was warm but our 3 children thought the breeze on Black Hill was chilly. We had visited the Holme Peat Pit (beyond the end of Issues Road) and were on our way to the wreck of a crashed Sabre aircraft. As seen in the photo the bare peat was dry and dusty and the streams running off Holme Moss were dark brown.

 

In the following years we saw test areas where pine branches, to be superseded later by geotextiles, had been spread on the bare peat slopes in attempts to slow the erosion.

 

Another summer many years later in 2000 we saw the work continue. We sat, with 2 grandchildren, on Holme Moss watching the helicopter transporting flagstones. A path was being laid across the ever widening black morass of the track from Laddow Rocks.

 

In June 2003, the new flagstone path through the re-vegetated moor made the Saturday morning walk from Crowden easier but our now grown-up children were surprised at the appearance of the cairn built round the trig point. Now revealing its base, the depth of peat lost from Black Hill was clearly visible.

Just six years later in 2009, following the spraying of pelleted seed across the moor, Black Hill was a green lawn. ‘Desecration!’ said a scouting friend; he was more accepting of the change when the moorland grasses later took hold and the vegetation was as before the Industrial Revolution.

 

Last year from the summit of West Nab, we watched the helicopter spraying its pellets on Wessenden Moor, showing the work goes on.

This June we went with our younger son and his sons to look at the Swordfish plane wreck and then to the trig point at Black Hill, what a contrast!