VOLUNTEERS from local groups and the Friends of Ilkley Moor joined staff from Bradford Council’s Countryside and Rights of Way team to plant a further 4,000 sphagnum moss plants on Ilkley Moor this week.
Sphagnum moss is a vital component in encouraging the development of blanket bog, which forms peat and helps capture carbon and keep the moor wet.
Other benefits include increased biodiversity, reduction in flooding below the moor and increased resilience to wildfire.
Teams from Natural England, the Environment Agency, Bradford 2025, Rebel Restoration, and the Moors for the Future Partnership also assisted in the efforts to increase the moss coverage on the moor.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport, who also helped with the planting, said: “This work was an element of the overall moorland restoration project we are funding, along with partners from Rebel Restoration and the Friends of Ilkley Moor.
“We have developed the plan with the Moors for the Future Partnership, and we will be focusing on the main catchments that flow from the moor into Wharfedale.
"This will also include slowing the flow from the moor by installing leaky dams – scheduled to take place later this summer.”
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