Plans announced to restore 500 acres of Fenland peat

Wicken Fen is marking its 125th anniversary by announcing peatland restoration plans.

Over 500 acres of peatland will be restored thanks to £1.8million of funding, as part of the National Trust’s largest lowland peat restoration project.

It will aim to turn degraded lowland peatlands from significant carbon emitter to important carbon store, with conservations claiming, without action, these degrading areas of peat could be lost within three decades.

Acquired in 1899, Wicken Fen is the oldest nature reserve in the charity’s care and includes one of the last surviving fragments of undrained fenland from the original East Anglian Fens.

Alan Kell, the National Trust’s Countryside Manager at Wicken Fen, spoke to Star Radio:

"Healthy peatlands are massively important as we tackle climate change.  

"They store carbon, help to control flooding, reduce the risk of wildfire and drought, act as a natural water filter and provide habitat for rare and unusual plants, birds and insects.

"Across the fens, it’s estimated that we lose 10-15mm of peat a year, which would take 10 to 15 years to generate.

"That’s why we’ve got to act now, to care for the peat we have and the fen habitat it supports which so many species are dependent on, and we couldn’t do this without the vital grants and donations we receive."

Wicken Fen is one of the most species-rich places in the country with nearly 10,000 species recorded since records began in the 1820.

Insects make up 70% of all the wildlife that thrive in the landscape, including flies, beetles and moths.

Plants are in abundance too with over 875 species across all types including flowers, trees, grasses, mosses and algae.

13 species new to science and 30 species new to Great Britain have been discovered at Wicken Fen, the most recent being a parasitic wasp and a flat bark beetle, both in 2019.