The latest survey of the volunteer-planted trees on Pule Hill have shown that they are doing well - even better than expected by this point. Foliage is out of the top of most tubes, allowing walkers on the hill to get some idea of what the new woodland will feel like. Thanks to those who came to plant these trees back in 2024, and to the Colne Valley Tree Society who help to maintain them and replace those few that die off. 

Thanks to those who came out and planted around 300 trees around Withens Clough reservoir on a community planting day. The trees are part of 60,612 trees that will eventually dot the cloughs around the reservoir - 55,374 have gone in so far. Good work!

It's a grubby job but someone has to do it. To keep our dams in good working order, they must be checked for debris, including dead foliage. Ranger Lucy here shows how it's done: by standing in a flowing stream and removing it by hand. Thanks Lucy!

This month BBC Look North came down to meet our dry stone walling team and to find out more about the project. Dan and his team have been building leaky dams for us - putting their ancient skills to use - for the past two years, and have now built over 2,000 dams. 

The first of the willow dams have gone in on March Haigh, using stakes hammered through fascines of willow twigs and then buried. These will grow into small thickets that will naturally slow the flow off the hills, but the goat willow used is native and not invasive so it will not spread across the moorland. 

The start of December saw the team hold their first knowledge sharing event at St Johns Church in Cragg Vale. The evening, which was organised with the help of Cragg Vale History Group, started by giving attendees insight into the Landscapes for Water programme. There were also great talks from both National Trust Archaeologist Mark Newman and local historian Paul Knights, which allowed them to share their knowledge and expertise with all of those that attended. 

In rather freezing conditions, this month the team have carried out dipwell monitoring in the March Haigh area.    

The dipwells are checked manually, by blowing down a tube which is lowered into the well. As the tube reaches water, bubbles are produced, and the resulting depth is measured and recorded. It may seem a rather low-tech approach but has proved to be the most reliable.

This month stone dams have been installed across the Withins, M62 & Deanhead area.

Since the start of the project a total of 1919 stone, willow and turf dams have been installed across the Withins, March Haigh, Baitings, M62 corridor and Deanhead areas.

This month the National Trust team and Yorkshire Water rangers headed out to various sites around Baitings to carry out dam maintenance. The dams are assessed on how they are functioning and to clear accumulated sediment and debris build-up. By doing this and logging the data we find, we can maintain the dam’s effectiveness over time.

Dipwells were also installed near March Haigh Reservoir to measure the depth of the water tables. With regular monitoring we hope to see a rise in water levels, which should positively impact biodiversity, reduce flood risk, improve water quality, reduce wildfire risk and mitigate the effects of climate change.

From bracken management to collecting damaged tree tubes, the team have been busy carrying out a variety of different tasks.

Managing bracken, a type of fern, offers several benefits to both the land and wildlife as well as helping to reduce the risk of wildfires. It also maintains diverse and healthy habitats, supports native plants and helps maintain the open landscape.

The team have also been busy collecting damaged tree tubes, which are sent back to the recycling plant. Here they are shredded and washed before being incorporated into the manufacturing of new tree shelters.

This month members of the team attended England's Community Forest Conference in the charming city of York.

One of the many highlights of the event was an inspiring talk on ‘Making Space for Nature’ by world-renowned ecologist Professor Sir John Lawton.

Advocating for a landscape-scale approach to conservation in England, we were delighted to see the Landscapes for Water project mentioned in his presentation as a good example of conservation.

What a great day, packed with insightful sessions. 

This month we held a public information event, giving locals the opportunity to meet the Landscapes for Water team and hear about the latest phase of the project at Deanhead Reservoir.

The event allowed members of the public to get involved and learn more about plans to plant trees and install leaky dams at Deanhead Reservoir, as part of our five-year project with Yorkshire Water.

In April a fire broke out on Marsden Moor damaging some of the trees planted last year as part of the Landscapes for Water project.

Since then the team of staff and volunteers, as well as those from the Colne Valley Tree Society, have worked hard to clear damaged tree guards and check the condition of the trees underneath.   

What’s good to see is that previous interventions have shown to work where areas of the landscape were unaffected from the recent fire.

Councillor Scott Patient recently paid a visit to take a look at the latest conservation efforts that have taken place around Baitings and Ryburn Reservoirs.

Not only did he get the chance to admire some of the 71 leaky dams in place, but also the tree planting efforts that have taken place in this area, so far totalling 31,500 trees.

It was great to show Cllr Patient around and demonstrate support of his work on climate action and local flood resilience.

This month there’s been lots of tree planting taking place near Baitings Reservoir, with the local community, schools and key partners all getting stuck in.

A fantastic opportunity for people to get involved with the project, 1,000’s of trees were planted over a number of days and it was great to have some helping hands.

This month we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Landscapes for Water project.

A partnership project with Yorkshire Water, White Rose Forest and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Landscapes for Water was set up to tackle flooding and boost biodiversity in West Yorkshire.

So far 73,500 trees have been planted and 320 leaky dams installed across West Yorkshire, with a five-year goal of 300,000 trees planted and 3,500 leaky dams positioned from Heptonstall in the north to Marsden Moor in the south.

We had a visit from new Colne Valley MP, Paul Davies, in December and were thrilled that he could come and plant a tree with us on the moor. He said he is very interested in our work, which tallies with his environmental and community values. 

For our second planting season at Marsden, we invited different groups to help us, including refugee charity iASK, Huddersfield Scouts and children from Slaithwaite C.E J. I School, all of whom got stuck in to the digging and mallet-ing with gusto. The school children, who were from different classes but all members of the school's 'eco committee', agreed it was "the best school trip we've ever had" and asked if they could come again - result!  

Contractors at the Yorkshire Water moorland landholding around Baitings and Ryburn reservoirs have started to make stone dams with gaps in them to allow the normal flow of water and wildlife to pass through unimpeded. At Marsden Moor, diggers arrived to build similar dam structures out of turf, which remould the topography, creating ephemeral pools that gradually fill up with rainfall, providing habitat and hydration for wildlife, as well as slowing the flow. Willow dams will also be added as the project progresses. These are made using bunches of willow twigs and stakes to create living wooden structures in the moorland channels.

Our Community and Volunteer officer, Adam, has been very busy since term began, delivering school assemblies to help children understand what our project does. With just a few umbrellas and crocheted acorns, he explains why adding trees can help to connect up woodland areas and benefit wildlife. As you can see from the smiles from the kids at Marsden Infant and Junior School, they have a lot of fun along the way too.

We've reached a milestone with our education programme: more than 500 children in and around our project areas (Marsden, Todmorden and Ripponden) have enjoyed our special school assemblies about moorland restoration. National Trust and Yorkshire Water rangers go into schools to offer these talks, explaining how peat is formed, why it's important, and that, when it comes to blanket bog, 'Wetter is Better'.

If you'd like us to come to your local school or community group, please do get in touch by emailing l4w@nationaltrust.org.uk 

Community volunteers helped to plant trees at Ryburn reservoir near Ripponden this weekend. Along with Yorkshire Water rangers, they planted around 200 saplings – the first of 8,000 trees that will be planted at Ryburn and neighbouring Baitings reservoir. One of the volunteers told us: "I look forward to visiting the site in the future and seeing how the trees grow and transform the plot.”

We have now planted almost 65,000 trees on the moorland fringes around March Haigh and Pule Hill. A huge thank you to our many volunteers who got involved. Despite foul weather during most of the planting, we had several groups, including school children, scouts and a refugee group, as well as individual volunteers, who planted 2,400 of the trees for us on Pule Hill. We want to say a very big thank you to all those who came to help out in all weathers. And particularly to the Colne Valley Tree Society who supported us throughout.

Despite this week’s ‘Snowmaggedon’ in West Yorkshire, we went ahead with our press launch of the project, where the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin; CEO of Yorkshire Water, Nicola Shaw; White Rose Forest’s Programme Director, Guy Thompson; and Regional Director of National Trust for the North, Mike Innerdale, all gathered to plant a tree at a very snowy Eastergate.

Reception children from Marsden braved the sleet to join our first Landscapes for Water community planting day on Pule Hill. These days will continue throughout February, and include open days for locals, plus organised events with scout troops, refugees, National Trust members, and organisations including Natural England and the Canal and Rivers Trust.
 

This week we’ve had the funding approved by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority who will be providing 3,500 leaky dams to be distributed across the five Landscapes for Water sites. These will slow the flow of water, keep the moorland wet and prevent lowland flooding.

Our rangers helped us kick off the education arm of our Landscapes for Water project this week. They went to one of Marsden’s primary schools giving a talk on moorland restoration and how sphagnum moss can help slow the flow. They all got to see the team’s ‘bog-in-a-box’, learned how leaky dams work, and why, “Wetter is Better!”

Today we got off to a flying start with Landscapes for Water’s March Haigh tree-planting as more than 60,000 tree tubes were delivered onto the edge of the moorland, ready for our planting to begin in earnest in the new year. The day was misty at the start but cleared enough to allow the helicopter pilot to deliver all his wares before dusk.

This week we started fencing off some of the slope on Pule Hill, ready for several hectares of young woodland that will be planted there early in the new year. The fencing will prevent livestock from grazing the young trees. We know the hill is a much-loved walking spot for many, so we have collaborated with the rangers to ensure access to the main footpaths remains open.

The moor’s Buckstones car park will now be closed for several weeks, thanks to the arrival of 60,000 tree tubes and other materials that are being stored there, ready to be airlifted out onto the moor. They will be separated into bags and marked with spray paint to signify which of the sites around March Haigh they are destined for.