The National Trust has completed a landmark peatland restoration project at their oldest national nature reserve – Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire.
The conservation charity says the project – which involved restoring 590 acres of fragile fenland, raising water levels and 're-wetting' the peat – marks a "powerful step forward" in tackling biodiversity loss and climate change.
Restoring peatlands at Wicken Fen
Peatlands store more carbon than all the forests on the planet. But when degraded, this carbon is released into the atmosphere. Restoring drained and degraded landscapes such as Wicken Fen improves their ability to retain carbon. It also improves flood resilience, reduces wildfire risk, safeguards future water availability and provides vital habitat for some of the UK's rarest birds, says the National Trust.
Various works have taken place across the nature reserve over the past six months, including the installation of a waterproof liner across 300 metres of bank to retain moisture in the peat, scrub clearance to restore the open fen landscape, and the creation of a clay embankment around an extinct ancient river to help re-wet the peat.
Wetland birds such as cranes and great egrets arrived within hours of water returning to the site, showing just how quickly nature can respond when given the right conditions. Curlews, little ringed plovers and a spoonbill have also been recorded in the area in recent weeks.
"Watching cranes arrive so soon after we raised the water was a moment I won’t forget,” says Ellis Selway, peatland restoration project manager. "It made all the effort and planning worthwhile. These birds are a sign that wetland life is returning, and fast. Seeing nature respond so quickly gives us real hope for the future of this landscape.”
Ancient tree discovered
During the works, conservation teams unearthed a remarkable bog oak, its growth rings revealing that it first took root in 2894 BC.
Tree ring analysis showed the tree lived for 222 years before the peat began to form around it. This makes the tree older than the earliest stones of Stonehenge, offering a glimpse into the dry, wooded landscape of late Neolithic Britain.
"This discovery exemplifies that wonderful relationship between depth and time, which comes with exploring the peat fen,” says Mark Knight from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit.
"Traces of past landscapes abound beneath its surface, and what’s more, they come beautifully preserved and in clear chronological order.”
"A powerful step forward"
Solar-powered pumps are now helping manage water levels in a sustainable way, while scientists from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology are monitoring water quality and greenhouse gas emissions to measure the project’s impact over time.
“This project is a huge achievement for the National Trust and a powerful step forward in the restoration of our natural world,” says Emma Ormond-Bones, general manager at Wicken Fen.
"It’s providing the space and conditions nature needs to recover, while also helping to store carbon and make landscapes more resilient to future environmental challenges.”
Beyond its ecological gains, the restoration has also shed light on the long human history of the fen, with finds (alongside the bog oak) ranging from a 19th-century windpump base to a locally made lemonade bottle – and even a large metal ball first mistaken for a Civil War cannonball (more likely a rollerball from the windpump).
“The project at Wicken Fen is returning our most significant area of lowland peat to a wetter, more nature-rich landscape that is good for people and wildlife," says Caroline Thorogood, senior national consultant on peatlands at the National Trust.
"Excitingly, whilst making this iconic nature reserve more resilient in the future, the project has also given us a fascinating glimpse into the past.”
Find out more about Wicken Fen.
Main image: crane calling in flight over Wicken Fen in 2019. Credit: Richard Nicoll, National Trust Images
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