Time to talk.

Nidderdale Moorland Group

Last week we hosted a talk for members of our local community.

Forty guests listened to an informative presentation from ecologist Associate Professor Dr Andreas Heinemeyer from the Stockholme Environment Institute at the University of York.

The long term Peatland-ES-UK study into moorland management has now reached it's half way point of 10 years and a summary of the project so far has recently been published.

The project was first commissioned, approved and funded for the first five years by Natural England and DEFRA in 2012 due to knowledge gaps and lack of evidence around the different moorland management approaches.

Importantly this study is designed around the BACI criteria, which stands for Before-After Control-Impact, the gold standard for this type of research and considered to be the most powerful way to give reliable results.

The study also covers three sites across the North of England including here in Nidderdale.

Wildfire is inevitable. It's not if, but when...

Unfortunately Steve Gibson was not able to attend last night as he was called away to Catalonia, but we would like to thank him for sending his presentation and notes for the evening and to Mr Andrew Gilruth who very kindly stepped in at short notice to give this important presentation.

Our moorlands provide one of our largest carbon stores, but today these valuable ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable to out of control wildfire events.

How we now manage our uplands to help save these valuable habitats and the wonderful flora and fauna they support is a hot topic.

With warmer, dryer spring and summer weather patterns leading to reduced rainfall and drought condition's we need to use all the management tools available to protect our moorlands and the underlying carbon rich peat from the serious threats we now face from wildfire events and this must include reducing dangerous fuel loads.

There was certainly plenty to think about and some great questions asked during the evening.

Thank you to all who attended, our guest speakers and to the Pateley Bridge & Bewerley Memorial Hall staff.