RECENT events from the Friends of Ilkley Moor have provided opportunities for the local community to learn about and help conserve the heritage of Ilkley Moor.
On Saturday, June 15 a guided walk to learn about the heathland habitat on Ilkley Moor took place.
This event introduced people to the ecology and conservation of the heathland habitat on the moor. Covering the identification, distribution and status of heathland, relevant legislation, habitat requirements and threats to habitat survival.
People also learnt about the plant bracken, different methods to control this and to celebrate the Friends of Ilkley Moors success in securing funding to control bracken, in selected areas using a flailbot.
On Sunday, June 16 a guided walk to discover the birds of Ilkley Moor took place.
Ilkley Moor forms part of the South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) designated under the European Union Bird’s Directive for its internationally important breeding birds.
This event was developed to enthuse the local community to help collect records for bird species on Ilkley Moor.
The walk was for two hours and only took in a small area of Ilkley Moor on the lower slopes.
On Saturday, May 25 a guided walk to learn about Ilkley Moors peatland habitat took place.
This event introduced people to the ecology and conservation of the peatland habitat on Ilkley Moor. People learnt about the work the Friends of Ilkley Moor have been doing in partnership with Bradford Council to help restore Ilkley Moor’s peatlands and the benefits of this for biodiversity, flood alleviation, carbon capture, reduced fire risk, water quality and storage.
Ilkley Moor forms part of the South Pennine Moors Special Area of Conservation (SAC) which is designated to protect the heathland and peatland habitats.
The FoIM’s regular volunteers have also been out each week this month undertaking habitat management on Ilkley Moor for the benefit of wildlife conservation and helping to maintain footpath networks.
For further information or to book tailored events, team days or educational activities please contact Tracy Gray, tracy@ilkleymoor.org
The events programme and heritage walks can be downloaded from the FOIM: website www.ilkleymoor.org
The FoIM want to become more financially sustainable, through membership subscriptions, and hope that more people will support them in this way.
Visit www.ilkleymoor.org for more information on how to become a member. Individual, unwaged, family, and corporate memberships are available.
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