MoorNEWS                                     Autumn 2018                                                  Issue 24

Monitoring gains momentum

Around 20 of our dedicated volunteers worked on the annual vegetation campaign from July to September.  The team surveyed over 400 two metre by two metre squares, looking at the percentage cover of every species within each quadrat.  That is a lot of detail to record!  The results will be added to our long-term datasets to look at the impact that conservation works are having on the landscape.

Between 20 and 30 volunteers are currently carrying out the annual dipwell campaign across the Peak District and South Pennine moors. The hardy bunch will head out every Thursday from now until Christmas to measure the water levels at monitoring sites across the moors.  We’ll let you know how the campaign goes in the next issue of MoorNEWS!

FireWatch fulfils mission and closes down for winter

In September Operation FireWatch ended as the weather cooled and the rain came down.  During the hot, dry summer 80 volunteers were stationed at moorland vantage points throughout the Peak District National Park and South Pennines to look out for fires. 

The campaign could not have gone ahead without the willingness and dedication of staff and volunteers.  In total 153 shifts were covered, equalling more than 340 hours.  A huge thank you to everyone who was involved!