The LIFE Project started in August 2006 and to date has accomplished the following:

 

Practical work

Up to the end of March 2010, the project has

1. blocked over 84,000 m of drainage grip at on the RSPB reserve at Lake Vyrnwy.

2. mown more than 194 hectares of moorland at Lake Vyrnwy to reduce the risk of fire damaging the blanket bog and create the heather bales used for blocking the grips.

3. installed the stock fence at Penaran and introduced Welsh Black cattle to graze the site from June - October each year. 

4. removed trees from 250 hectares of blanket bog at Penaran.

5. blocked 130,000m of forestry plantation ditch at Penaran.

6. removed more than 11,300 self-seeding trees from 6,000 hectares of moorland at Lake Vyrnwy.

Community work 

Part of the work the project is doing in the local community involves providing information and events about the project. As of March 2010, the project has:

1. installed two information panels, one at Lake Vyrnwy and one on the Migneint to inform locals and visitors alike about the project.

2. undertaken 46 guided walks and events at Lake Vyrnwy with over 600 people participating.

3. given 35 illustrated talks to more than 760 people from various groups, including local RSPB groups, garden clubs and local access forums.

4. visited 25 schools within the project area, with 666 pupils participating in classes. Of these visits, 15 were to Welsh language classes (257 pupils) and the remaining 10 English language classes (409 pupils).

5. hosted visits to the project site by 38 schools within the project area, with 1013 pupils participating. Of these visiting schools, 14 were by Welsh language classes (300 pupils) and 16 were by English language classes (713 pupils).

6. produced the project Video, Leaflet and Newsletters, which can be downloaded from the Publications page.

Monitoring

The monitoring of the impact of the restoration work began in the summer of 2007 and will take place until March 2011 at least. So far, the project has:

1. completed the first two vegetation surveys at Lake Vyrnwy in 2007 and 2008.

2. completed the first vegetation survey at Penaran, in 2008.

3. carried out two and a half years of hydrological monitoring at Lake Vyrnwy.

4. carried out the first two years of tick monitoring at Lake Vyrnwy.

Advisory work

The project is very keen advocate best practice for blanket bog management through the project areas. To achieve this the project is talking to local landowners and inviting them to come and see the project first hand.

1. Newsletters have been produced for 2007, 2008 and 2009 and were distributed to all landowners within the Project area. You can download the newsletters on the Publications page.

2. Landowners within the Berwyn and South Clwyd Mountains and Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt have been invited to visit the project. These visits are currently on-going.

3. The Berwyn Society Management Committee visited the project in March 2008.

4. Montgomeryshire Young Farmers Association visited the project in January 2008.

5. The project was represented at the Royal Welsh Show in 2008 and 2009 where information was provided to any individual interested in the project or blanket bog.

6. A demonstration day was held at Lake Vyrnwy in June 2009 in conjunction with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group. Talks were given to 94 farmers and landowners who were then shown some of the ditch blocking work that has been carried out and the machinery that was used.

Other

1. The project's DVD has been produced and was launched at the 2008 Royal Welsh Show

2. The first two annual progress reports and the mid-term report have been submitted to the EU.

3. The project photographer, David Woodfall has been busy taking photos for the project. See the Photo Gallery pages for some of his stunning images.

4. The project is keen to discuss the work carried out here and by other organisations involved in similar work. This has lead to site visits taken by project staff and by other projects to visit Lake Vyrnwy.

These include visits to Moors for the Future, the Sustainable Catchment Management Program (SCaMP), Peatscapes, LIFE Peatlands project based at RSPB Forsinard, RSPB Geltsdale, LIFE blanket bog restoration in Ireland project, LIFE raised bog restoration Ireland.

Visits to the project include staff from the National Trust, RSPB Geltsdale, Peatscapes, RSPB Agricultural Policy Unit, British Ecological Society, Welsh Assembly Government Sustainability Committee, Environment Agency Wales Research Group, Welsh Assembly Technical Services Division, United Utilities, Natural England, the RSPB Wales Conservation Officer Team, and the Countryside Land and Business Association.