The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has committed £786,000 to a project that will restore one of the rarest habitats on earth.
Shropshire Wildlife Trust launched a fundraising appeal in 2016 to help the charity return a former scrapyard to nature. Located in North Shropshire on the Marches Mosses, a hotspot for rare wildlife, the former car breaker’s yard had been in operation for 50 years and was covered in 100,000 tyres, thousands of litres of disused oil and tonnes of wing mirrors and bumpers.
To return the land to a condition where wildlife can thrive, Shropshire Wildlife Trust was looking to raise £500,000 to clean decades of waste, and clear out several oil sump pits, before covering the site with peat. This will allow the bog habitat to regenerate and plant species to return.
The Marches Mosses are made up of a series of linked mosses that are of international importance. The challenging and ambitious project to restore the former scrapyard, along with a further 63 hectares of surrounding dead or dying
areas of the Marches Mosses, has been created in partnership with Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
Thought to be the largest conservation project ever to have happened in Shropshire, over the next five years, work will be carried out to repair and return the area to nature. The funding received will also help to improve the visitor experience, with a small visitor centre, play area, wheelchair accessible canal landing pad and birdhide.
Colin Preston CEO of Shropshire Wildlife Trust said: “This funding is the final part of a funding jigsaw to restore this wonderful peat bog and we’re very grateful to Heritage Lottery Fund and National Lottery players for supporting our work.”
We are immensely proud to support this project. Last year, Restored Earth, a UK charity largely funded by Clarity Environmental, gave a grant of £10,000 from donations the charity has received. Restored Earth was established to fund projects that will decontaminate, restore and improve areas that have been previously used by the waste industry. The Scrapyard Challenge is a perfect fit for the charity and we look forward to seeing the work progress.
If you would like to donate to the Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s ‘Scrapyard Challenge’ visit their Just Giving page or text YARD16 £5 to 70070. Keep up to date with the project, by visiting www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.
