A two day training event will begin today (7th September) in Aberystwyth – looking at ‘Raised mire research and restoration: the Cors Fochno experience.’
CCW’s Senior Reserve Manager Mike Bailey said “The aim of the workshop is to show how recent research work at Cors Fochno can be applied to the restoration of lowland peat bogs to protect their important carbon stores and their biodiversity.”
Leading experts Professor Andrew Baird of Leeds University, Dr. Paul Hughes of Southampton University and Dr. Richard Lindsay of East London University are amongst the speakers who will be sharing the findings of their work at Cors Fochno and similar sites. Other delegates from all parts of Britain and Ireland as well as Latvia are also attending.
Cors Fochno Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is seen as one of the best surviving raised bogs in the UK which made it such a good site for research.
The quality of the reserve is mirrored by the abundance of wildlife to be found there. Many scare plants can be seen including three nationally rare species of bogmoss (Sphagnum), insect-eating sundews, bog rosemary and wild cranberry. The bog is a haven for dragonflies and other rare invertebrates such as the rosy marsh moth, large heath butterfly, bog bush-cricket and the bog raft spider. Other shy animals and birds found on the bog include otter, water vole, adder, snipe, nightjar, grasshopper warbler and barn owl.
Information on visiting Cors Fochno National Nature Reserve (NNR) can be found on the CCW website at www.ccw.gov.uk or by calling at the nearby Ynyslas visitor centre which is open daily until 24th September.
