Kielder Forest and Border Mires | The Wildlife Trusts

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Kielder - Northumberland Wildlife Trust

England’s largest intact series of peat bogs interspersed with woodlands and Europe’s biggest man-made forest and lake, Kielder Water and Forest Park.

one of the largest and best places to encounter wildlife

Northumberland Wildlife Trust

This scheme will develop a large, connected Living Landscape of boglands and forest – one of the largest and best places to encounter wildlife and experience “wild” countryside in England.

Many of the mires in the area were drained and planted with trees as part of a large-scale afforestation plan between 1945 and1960. This scheme will restore this lost habitat by removing trees and raising water levels to extend and link 58 border mires around the Kielder Forest.

In addition, and as part of the long-term forest plan for the area, more native broadleaf trees will be planted bringing a more natural feel to the forest and encouraging the spread of native wildlife. This will protect the future of endangered species that are currently in decline, such as the black grouse.

What’s happening?

We are:

Working to conserve the endangered red squirrel
Improving wetland and woodland habitats in partnership with the Forestry Commission, Northumbrian Water and other landowners
Developing appropriate, sustainable nature tourism across the area as part of the Big Picture Partnership to lead the development

Restoration work has been completed on a number of mire sites covering at least 750 hectares and monitoring is in progress elsewhere.

Scheme area: 53,500 hectares

This scheme is helping species including...

the country’s greatest population of the large heath butterfly as well as herds of roe deer. The area is also renowned for visiting ospreys and other spectacular birds and animals, and has the largest population of red squirrels anywhere in England.

This scheme is also...

storing carbon, reducing flood risk, improving water quality, developing green tourism, providing volunteering opportunities.

To find out more

Email: mail@northwt.org.uk | Tel: 0191 2846884 | Kielder Forest and Border Mires

Living Landscapes

Find out more about our Living Landscape conservation work - targeting areas for landscape-scale nature conservation and transforming places for people and wildlife.