Sphagnum Moss: Calderdale's wet blanket

For thousands of years, sphagnum moss formed a wet blanket over Calderdale’s uplands, creating one of the area’s most valuable natural habitats: blanket bog. Acting as a speed bump for rainwater, sphagnum moss captures rainfall where it falls and slows its journey into surrounding reservoirs and rivers. This plays a vital role in natural flood management.

Tray of sphagnum moss
Benefits for flood resilience, wildlife and climate

The increased wetness of the ground also reduces the risk of moorland wildfires as well as improving biodiversity and storing carbon through the preservation of plant matter as peat.

Damage to Calderdale's peatlands

Decades of human activity have damaged much of our peat upland. Pollution from the industrial era, drainage, overgrazing and other pressures have resulted in vast areas of degraded peat that cannot support the plants that create and maintain healthy blanket bog.

Volunteer hands in sphagnum moss
Working together to restore our peatlands

Growing Moor is a project funded through the Priority Actions Grant Scheme. The scheme is funded by the Environment Agency and managed by Calderdale Council.
This funding has paid for habitat restoration by contractors and has been vital for the continuation and expansion of The Calderdale Sphagnum Project, increasing the availability of sphagnum moss for peatland restoration by growing eleven species locally across two polytunnels.

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