Project opens to get the public closer to nature at Risley Moss

A MAJOR restoration project at Risley Moss, Warrington, is officially opened today.
It is first major scheme to be complete under the Carbon Landscape project – a five-year £3.2 million programme funded by the Heritage Lottery – to restore landscapes in Wigan, Warrington and Salford previously scarred by industry.
The project opened today is a boardwalk on Risley Moss which will allow the public to get up close to nature.
Risley Moss is one of the last remaining fragments of the lowland raised peat bog that once covered large areas of South Lancashire and North Cheshire.
Restoration and the new boardwalk will improve the area for wildlife, and enable access up close to a “Mini Moss” bog education area for all ages and abilities.
Today, Dr Amanda Wright from Natural England will briefly introduce the Carbon Landscape project and children from Gorse Covert Primary School and Wigan disability advocacy group More Than Words will receive a guided tour of this ancient moss, joined by the Risley Moss friends group and other organisations
Ranger Mark Cozens of Warrington Borough Council and Dr Paul Thomas of Natural England will discuss the restoration work and the project’s future ambitions.
It is the first of eight major restoration projects in the Carbon Landscape, which over five years will restore more than 130 hectares to nature. Upcoming projects include restoration works at Wigan Flashes, Hey Brook, Rixton Claypits, Woolston Eyes and Paddington Meadows.
The project has successfully worked with 150 dedicated volunteers and provided six trainee placements, all of which lead to full-time employment in their desired careers.
The work of the Carbon Landscape is seen as vital because wildlife is being squeezed out, isolated and there is a real risk of losing species locally if there isn’t a safe and effective corridor for them to move through the landscape.
Warrington Borough Council’s lead member for leisure and community, Cllr Tony Higgins, said: “The mini Moss and boardwalk that has been created though the Carbon Landscape showcases the vital role nature can play in improving our lives, with vastly improved access and educational value. I am looking forward to taking hundreds of school children out onto the moss, and watching them learn about this amazing, rare habitat that is right on their doorstep, which up until now has been hard to access and see”.