From the Welsh boarder to the Black Country, from the Mersey to the West Midlands lies a landscape sculpted by ice and shaped human use. Spend time in this inviting landscape and its character emerges – it is a wet-landscape, at every turn a mere or peaty moss, some small others extensive. This scattered nature of wild wetlands across such a large area has historically hidden their importance for nature ... had they been crammed into one place they would undoubtedly have rivalled more famous wetlands like the Lake District or the Norfolk Broads. With over 200 meres and mosses and 13,000ha of peatland they form a network of international importance, recognised by the Ramsar Convention a world-wide register of the best wetlands.
The meres of Cheshire also feature in the history of bird conservation in the UK. They were the last place where great-crested grebes hung in the face of relentless slaughter for their feathers. Their thick body feathering made luxurious had-warms for the high-born ladies of the day. Great-crested grebes are now a familiar sight but in the 19th century they were close to joining the ranks of wildlife ‘disappeared’ by Victorian greed.
Great crested grebe - an iconic species for the Midlands Meres
Well that’s all very interesting history – you may well think. What happens next? The future of these soggy gems got a boost last week with the launch of a 50 year programme to restore and reconnect this distinctive landscape – the range of partners and stakeholders involved is heartening. Launches are always full of promise, it’s the delivery that matter, and for me the role call of key players is perhaps at this stage the most important thing. (The next big thing is the funding I’ve listed them all at the bottom of this post.
The landscapes and places matter fundamentally to the people who live and work their or visit the area – that’s clear given the range of interests represented in the project. Success will be measured in many ways but importantly the fate of characteristic species is going to be at the heart of the plan – be they water voles or white-faced darters, lapwings or snipe. Marsh harriers have recently returned with bitterns and cranes very much on the agenda.
We at the RSPB are proud to be part of this exciting initiative – the move to landscape scale conservation is essential if we are to step up for nature and really try and achieve a countryside richer in wildlife than it is today. Our own Futurescapes programme focuses on part of the area covered by last week’s launch – and I’ve featured our involvement in work to help lapwings in this blog.
And here’s the list of partners and stakeholders in the Midlands Meres and Mosses Landscape Partnership:
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