A TOTAL of £263,309 in funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been awarded to the Lost Peatlands Connections project which will build on the success of the Lost Peatlands of South Wales project, which ended earlier this year.
The funding will allow Neath Port Talbot Council and partners to develop plans and apply for a full National Lottery grant at a later stage, which could see further activity on the project up to 2029.
The original partnership project, also backed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and led by Neath Port Talbot Council, has led to big changes across the uplands of Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Multiple habitats which are important for wildlife conservation and carbon sequestration have been restored and improved and thousands of people have engaged with activities in valley communities and schools.
With more than 240 hectares of degraded peatland bogs now restored by the project, upland areas in the South Wales Valleys are being helped to return to conditions like those before commercial tree planting in the mid-20th Century.
Cllr Jeremy Hurley, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Economic Growth, said: “This land management practice has had significant benefits for biodiversity and climate regulation and it’s also hoped wider benefits associated with peatland conservation – such as flood management, improved water quality and reduced wildfire – may also be long term outcomes of this work.
“The natural heritage of this area is being restored and celebrated with greater awareness through online media and the nine walking routes guided by the Lost Peatlands Explorer mobile app. This allows both locals and visitors to engage more deeply with this significant landscape, once described as the ‘Alps of Glamorgan’!.
“Increasing skills and knowledge was a key outcome. “
More than 1,200 people engaged with public events and more than 700 received training on practical and ecological skills. Pupils at seven local schools also received multiple lessons, field trips and improvements to school grounds. The history of the area – including local tales, myth, and legend – has also been celebrated through a variety of digital resources.
Further efforts are now underway through the new ‘Lost Peatlands Connections’ project, which aims to expand its environmental conservation and community outreach work to two further valleys. The Afan, Neath, Rhondda and upper Cynon valleys, and the uplands connecting them, are now the focus area for this landscape-scale initiative.
Building on the successes and lessons learned through the first project, the vision of this further National Lottery funding award is to connect healthy habitats across the landscape to build ecosystem resilience and protect wildlife, while also deepening people’s connection to nature and their cultural heritage.
You can get involved in developing this next project by attending events or by getting in touch with the team at [email protected] or 07791638201. Keep informed by visiting www.npt.gov.uk/lostpeatlands , follow @LostPeatlands on social media and visit the project sites by downloading the Lost Peatlands Explorer mobile app.
