Carnivorous plant returns to Yorkshire Dales peat bog that a decade ago was 'black broken land'

The National Park Authority confirmed that the rare species sundew has been recorded on Fleet Moss following an intensive restoration project.

Six years ago the area was described as 'black broken land' and known only for the presence of Yorkshire's highest road, which is regularly impassable in winter.

Other species including cotton grasses and peat-forming sphagnum mosses have also returned to the vastly improved habitat.

Nearly a quarter of the Yorkshire Dales National Park is blanket bog peatland but much of it is severely degraded owing to 20th-century draining and intensive farming practices. Restoration efforts have been gathering pace since the formation in 2009 of the Yorkshire Peat Partnership.

Restoration officer Jenny Sharman said:“Sundew is a fabulous little plant and one of a number of really unique species that can only survive in these waterlogged habitats. It’s carnivorous. If you look closely at it, there are lots of sticky droplets on the end of the leaves to trap insects.

“I’ve developed a real love for Fleet Moss. When I first saw it six years ago I was shocked by how appalling it looked. It was such a broken land. There was so much bare peat, so many peat hags sticking up proud, gullies pouring water and peat down the hillside during heavy rain.”

Hundreds of timber, stone or coir log dams have since been placed across the erosion channels to trap water and sediment.

"We’re really beginning to see the benefits. All of that black broken land I saw the first day has been transformed and we’ve been able to get so much vegetation coming back. Where there was blackened land we are seeing cotton grass heads blowing in the wind, lots of green, heather coming up, we’re seeing cloudberries, cranberries - it’s just a wealth of life now.

“The majority of dragonflies need peatlands in order to breed. It’s very similar for the birds. They need this land. The dunlins, the golden plovers, lapwings, curlews, species becoming really endangered in England, as well as short eared owls, merlins and hen harriers - they really depend on this habitat to survive.

“All of the sediment that would have been tearing off down the hills with the water is no longer doing that. We’re actually keeping the peat up here.”

By 2030 it is hoped that all peatlands in the Dales will be restored.