Staffordshire Wildlife Trust have launched an urgent appeal to raise £81,000 to fund the purchase of Gun Moor Meadow, a missing piece of land on the edge of Gun Moor, which the Trust purchased in 2019.

The charity is asking members, supporters, volunteers and members of the public for their help to secure this invaluable site set in the Peak District Moors – an area of international importance for rare bird and plant life.

This acquisition of Gun Moor Meadow, (a missing ‘jigsaw piece’ from Gun Moor), will allow Staffordshire Wildlife Trust to protect the rest of the site from development and extend the wildlife habitat. Sitting on the north westerly edge of Gun Moor, the field has been intensively grazed for many years, suppressing the natural flora and fauna. But the site has huge potential for wildlife and the charity’s approach to return the field to a wet heath area will help the whole landscape become a haven for Staffordshire’s threatened wildlife.

Bryony Davison, Conservation Project Officer, says:

“When Gun Moor Meadow came up for sale recently, we had to act fast to secure it. This meant taking out a loan, which we now need to pay back. We urgently need to raise funds to cover this, so we don’t have to dip into our reserve funding.

“We are asking the public to support us in connecting this meadow to Gun Moor. Their support will make all the difference to  Staffordshire wildlife and help enable the return of rare plant species to the landscape. To make a donation simply visit our urgent appeal page on our website.”

The fence separating the field from Gun Moor will soon be removed and the drainage ditches filled in to allow the site to rewet. A small number of cattle will be used to lightly graze the field, allowing the re-establishment of native plants such as bog asphodel, cranberry, cotton grass and sundew. The charity hopes that these changes to the landscape will bring back species such as skylark and meadow pipits, and in the long term, hope to see hen harrier, black grouse, and pine marten return to the wider landscape.

Three years ago, thanks to the generosity of the charity’s many supporters, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust was able to purchase Gun Moor, a 193-acre site of moorland and wet heath that was under threat following years of poor management.

Since the purchase, Gun Moor has started to show signs of recovery, attracting many rare bird species including woodcock, snipe, curlew and the even rarer redpoll. In addition, the rare plants found on the moorland such as bog asphodel, cranberry and sphagnum mosses now have a more certain future as their decline has been halted.

For more information about Gun Moor and the appeal to raise funds for the purchase of Gun Moor Meadow, please visit www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/appeals/gun-moor-meadow-appeal