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 on Wednesday, March 20.

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.

Ilkley Gazette: The team gathering to plant the spaghnum mossThe team gathering to plant the spaghnum moss (Image: Bradford Council)

Rebel Restoration is the charitable arm of Rebel Energy, who supply domestic electric and gas, and have chosen this project as one which will receive their funding, generated by their customers and directed at environmentally beneficial projects via Rebel Restoration.

Ilkley Gazette: Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw lends a hand Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw lends a hand (Image: Bradford Council)

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport at Bradford Council, 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. We are very grateful for the efforts of all the people and organisations who took part and continue to support us in trying to increase this important habitat’s resilience to climate change.”