Fires are one of the biggest threats to our nature reserves. We’re working hard to reduce the risk through better site management, firebreaks and public awareness. When fires do happen, with training and equipment we can act quickly to reduce the risk, but the damage is immediate and severe. We need support to restore these places and give nature a fighting chance to recover.Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
Urgent Appeal Launched to Protect and Restore Fire-Damaged Nature Reserves in Staffordshire
Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is calling on the public for urgent support, as rising fire risks threaten some of the region’s most precious wild places and the wildlife that depend on them.
The plea follows a series of devastating fires in recent years, including at Gentleshaw Common near Burntwood (see below image) which is home for many birds, solitary bees and wasps as well as many species of plants including bog asphodel, heather and rare fly-catching carnivorous sundew. Fires have also caused devastation at The Roaches, Ipstones Edge and earlier this month at Snake Pass (in Derbyshire).
Fires can tear through fragile heathlands, grasslands and moorlands in a matter of hours, destroying years of careful conservation work. They leave wildlife like ground nesting birds, adders and brown hares without shelter, food or breeding grounds. Recovery can take decades, even with the intervention and dedicated restoration work of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.
The Trust is stepping up efforts to prevent future fires; they also need to restore habitats already ravaged by fire.
The Trust is appealing for donations to fund essential work, including fire prevention measures, habitat restoration, and ongoing care for vulnerable sites.
Gentleshaw Common fire in 2025. Image credit: Matthew Wallet.
For volunteers like Michelle, who has spent years caring for Gentleshaw Common, the impact is deeply personal, “It was heartbreaking to see everything gone,” she says.
After tirelessly helping to restore the habitat for local wildlife, she was left crushed when fire ripped through the site last year.
To see all our hard work go up in flames was incredibly demoralising. We’d created a space for special wildlife that has nowhere else to go. In the space of a few hours, so much was lost. You feel helpless watching it happen. What’s at stake can’t be underestimated. Nature is already struggling, without this added devastation.Volunteer at Gentleshaw Common
Fire rages across The Roaches, Summer 2018. Image credit: Rod Kirkpatrick.
Restoring The Roaches following the fire (above) is an ongoing team effort. Dedicated volunteers have planted thousands of sphagnum moss plug plants covering an impressive 687m2 (27.5 hectares). More than 30,000 other staple moorland plants, such as cotton grass, have also been planted. Other work to restore the rare and precious blanket bog habitat has included blocking artificial drainage ditches by installing over 600 dams to hold water back and rewet the peat.
A race against time
Longer, hotter summers are increasing the risk of severe moorland fires, making urgent action more critical than ever.
People are being urged to act now and donate. Support will help to:
- Create and maintain firebreaks to slow or stop the spread of fires
- Restore damaged habitats so wildlife can return
- Support volunteers and conservation staff on the ground
- Raise awareness to help prevent fires before they start.
Leveret (baby hare) rescued by Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
Please donate to support the appeal
Click the button below or call 01889 880100.
Every donation will help to protect and restore Staffordshire’s wild places.