Crompton Moor Nature Recovery Project

Greater Manchester Combined Authority is in the process of producing the first Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), building on the fantastic work of our pilot in 2021.

We spoke to volunteers at Crompton Moor Nature Recovery Project in Shaw, Oldham to learn more about the brilliant work already underway there to help nature recover.

Tell us about your project

Crompton Moor is part of the South Pennines and covers an area of around 76 hectares, it is located in the north-east of Oldham close to the border with Rochdale. The Old Brook watercourse flows through the moor and feeds into the river Beal which passes through the towns of Shaw and Crompton.

The Friends of Crompton Moor are a not-for-profit Wildlife Conservation Group with an interest in the welfare of the environment, flora and fauna of the area generally known as ‘Crompton Moor’, that lies between Shaw and Saddleworth, in the borough of Oldham.

Friends of Crompton Moor was formed in 2010, with support from Oldham Council, and assistance from Moors for the Future, City of Trees and the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit.

We have been protecting and enhancing the wildlife on this 76-hectare Grade A Site of Biological Importance by helping to repair infrastructure and manage its many biodiverse habitats.

Our knowledge, of the natural world and its wildlife, has grown over the past 14 years, giving us the skills to put in place various projects which will help with Nature Recovery.

We are currently working on four different large projects, related to wetlands, peatland restoration, heathland restoration and rebuilding and repairing drystone walls.

Wetlands

Manchester City of Trees first came along with an innovative project to build five leaky dams across the moor’s main stream known as ‘Old Brook’. 

This gave us an incentive to expand on this, by managing the five ponds created by the leaky dams, and developing a large wetland area from the stream’s source at the top of the moor, down to the bottom where it continues its journey to the river Beal.

The wetland has since been expanded by guiding water runoff towards the main stream by creating tributaries and constructing more ponds along the way.

The wetland will contribute to and sustain the wildlife and flora of this area, whilst also improving the physical attraction of Crompton Moor both as an educational and recreational area of natural beauty for the benefit of all visitors. Our aim is to create a sustainable habitat for both amphibians and water marginal plants. The establishment of this will have longer term impact in that it will become an attraction and a place to view a natural wetland.

Peatland restoration

The Moors for the Future Partnership has been working with the Friends of Crompton Moor, since 2017 to carry out sphagnum moss planting and vegetation monitoring. The first of its kind for the Partnership, this collaboration aims to give the community a sense of ownership of Crompton Moor through practical conservation.

The Moors for the Future Partnership first came into contact with Friends of Crompton Moor through the Partnership’s Community Science Project which established an environmental monitoring site on the moor in 2017.

The Partnership has worked with Friends of Crompton Moor to organise sphagnum planting days, where volunteers have come along to plant 11,750 plugs of this crucial bog-building plant. The Partnership has also advised the group on carrying out the long-term monitoring of these sphagnum moss plug plants to look at how they grow and interact with the environment around them. The group will be monitoring 90 quadrats across the moor. The majority of the funding for the project has been secured by City of Trees, and has been granted by the Environment Agency.

This collaboration between the Partnership and Friends of Crompton Moor is a first for the Partnership and provides a blueprint for how community initiatives can become involved in practical conservation on their doorstep. By encouraging community involvement in moorland restoration, it can help to reduce incidences of wildfire, littering and misuse of the moorland as communities develop a sense of pride in these unique landscapes.

Crompton Moor, spanning 76 hectares, and reaching an elevation of 391m, is one of the largest open spaces owned by Oldham Council in Greater Manchester, and is a grade A Site of Biological Importance since 2003. Its close proximity to Oldham and other areas of Greater Manchester, makes it an important place for the residents of these areas as it may often be their first experience of a moorland landscape.

Heathland restoration

The main task is to restore the spoil heaps at Brushes Clough, by controlling the scrub. The restoration involves re-creating the physical conditions necessary for a habitat to exist. 

Scrub encroachment needs to be prevented when and where it compromises conservation, and is damaging to a certain habitat environment.

The spoil heaps habitat is mainly made up from the eracious family of plants, and they include heather, bilberry, moss and gorse, with a rich assembly of lichens spread throughout.

The UK has lost over 80% of its lowland heath since 1800, and now has about 20% of the world’s lowland heath, making it a very rare habitat.

Approximately 4,500 saplings have been removed to date, but the birch saplings are so prolific it continues to be an ongoing task.

For the moment, only the birch saplings are being removed. There are a small number of other trees/saplings present, such as rowan, oak, hazel, larch, and Scots pine, and these will be left to both enhance diversity and provide food for the birds. A close eye will be kept on the remaining trees, and these will only be removed if it is absolutely necessary.

We have three tree poppers which greatly help with this task. There is no digging to do; the popper is clamped to the base of the tree; a lever is pulled, and the tree comes out along with the roots.  Very minimum damage is done to the surrounding vegetation.

A sensitive management plan is being put in to take care of this place to help monitor and maintain this valuable wildlife area.

Drystone walls

When it comes to drystone walls, we are look to provide wildlife habitat, completely restore these historic features, and provide a facility for reviving this ancient craft.

There are several miles of drystone walls upon Crompton Moor that need to be rebuilt. Members of FCM have attended DSWA Training Courses run by the Lancashire Branch, along with members from City of Trees, and further courses are to be run annually by the Branch.

Drystone walls are an incredibly valuable wildlife habitat. They form continuous corridors allowing the movement of all sorts of animals across the landscape. They offer shelter and safety to a variety of small mammals, which in turn provide hunting grounds for stoats and weasels.

They make a major contribution to biodiversity as well as acting as corridors and staging posts for the birds. They also act as a firebreak, stopping fires in their tracks, protecting nature.