This week I have asked our area manager David Morris to write a blog celebrating the unique and important nature of the bog here at Campfield Marsh and some of the tough challenges we face over its management.
Two weeks ago, on the 26th July the world celebrated International Bog Day, an annual event, in celebration of bogs, fens & swamps to raise awareness of peatlands – the benefits they provide, the threats they face and the ways we can all help protect them. Our Campfield Marsh reserve is at the heart of the South Solway Mosses and is dominated by Bowness Common, a large area of lowland peat bog that we manage with our fellow neighbours and partners. A walk across the boardwalk at this time of year provides a sensory stimulation with a rich display of colours from the rare bog mosses, grasses and plants adapted to grow in these special habitats along with the fragrance of flowering heather and bog myrtle. The bog is also home some charismatic rare wildlife with adders, large heath butterflies and curlew, the latter globally threatened and as precious as the bog itself.
Adder
Despite the rarity of the bog at Campfield and its internationally afforded protection, all is not in good heart with the bog, a problem faced by bogs across the globe. Decades of draining, peat working, and inappropriate activity has left our bogs fighting for survival and contributing to climate change as they emit carbon that was previously stored away in the functioning natural peatlands. Our approach to date at Campfield has been to secure the damaged hydrology of the bog on our land or working with neighbours and partners like Natural England to preserve as much of the peatland as possible, whilst creating habitat for the rare species that depend on it. We have also encouraged access and engagement to share our enthusiasm for the bog and its wildlife with the local community and our visitors alike.
Boardwalks allow access into this rare habitat
We purchased the Rogersceugh farmland in 2002 as part of continued work to restore the adjacent Bowness Common bog and a network of wetland habitats on the edge of the bog around the drumlin. Our work to date in this area has been successful with more extensively managed grazing and works to create wetland pools and fen benefitting a range of species from Curlews to Barn Owls, in addition to allowing people to enjoy the landscape from the cart shed that we restored in 2006. Working with our partners and neighbours, we now need to look to the future stages of bog restoration around the Rogersceugh drumlin as the current farm access track is one of the factors preventing the site from fully recovering to its former glory. The track, in its current state, crosses a section of rare and protected deep peat habitat and with its associated drainage is holding back the recovery of this protected and internationally important site.
An example of an area of bog restoration.
Our work in conserving species, habitats and cherished landscapes is never straightforward and often involves making some difficult decisions. The future of Rogersceugh Farm is one of those challenges. When we purchased the farm, it was already in a poor state of repair with various alterations and additions over the decades including a range of modern asbestos buildings that dominate the skyline. The buildings and farmhouse are uninhabitable and dangerous, and we have since had to fence them off as they were unfit for present day use and beyond economic repair. Over the subsequent years we have taken specialist advice, worked with partners and local stakeholders to find solutions for the future of the farm. With the urgent need to address the damage caused to the bog by the farm access track and future lack of maintenance accessibility for vehicles along this section of private road, we have a limited options and need to make some tough objective calls.
Cattle Grazing the bog edge, helping to create habitat for a variety of wildlife
Although the farm has a strong affinity within the local community, its place in the landscape and those who previously farmed the land we need to be realistic about its future. Like our work on species and habitats, we need to prioritise our decisions and charitable expenditure where it is most needed. While we always endeavour to preserve both ecological and archaeological heritage on any land we manage, built in c.1805 by Lowther Estates, various additions, modernisations and subsequent dilapidation has meant the farm has not met the conditions to merit its listing by English Heritage. The farmstead, in a historical context is of low significance as referenced by specialist archaeological advice we have sought. Given the low historical significance of the buildings and their dangerous condition, allied with the long-term lack of vehicle access for maintenance and constraints on the farm from the protection afforded to the bog we have few options. Following consultation with the local authority, we are now in the process of making the drumlin site safe. We are documenting the historic building legacy before making the buildings safe and removing them to leave their footprint as a record of their presence in the landscape. We will retain the recently restored cart shed for public enjoyment and as a home to our resident bats and barn owls, along with the continuing public access that visitors to our site currently enjoy.
Nature conservation isn’t easy, and we do occasionally have to make some difficult decisions based on the priorities and constraints that occur on our sites like Campfield. We have much to be proud of and celebrate on our reserve from the restoration of the globally important bog of Bowness Common to the nature we are playing our part to recover in this part of the Solway. If we don’t play our part to tackle the impacts of climate change and declines in nature, the landscapes we enjoy currently will be poorer for it. In this time of unprecedented challenge, we have realised more than ever how every one of us is dependent on nature and the special places like Campfield where our threatened species and habitats can be restored and thrive.
Marsh Fritillary