The restoration of degraded peatland in the Cairngorms National Park is flying ahead thanks to a little help from a helicopter lift. For the first time in Scotland a large scale project has made extensive use of helicopter lifts. 120 stone dams and 800 bags of Sphagnum-rich mulch were lifted by helicopter onto the restoration site.
The project on Candacraig Estate in Strathdon is focusing on restoring peatland habitat on Camock Hill and The Ca, where extensive peat hags, erosion gullies, bare peat and moorland grips are present at a height of 670 metres. Work on this site started in the autumn of 2015 supported by Peatland Action. However, the onset of winter in early December prevented the completion of this project. Further financial support for Peatland Action was made available in November and the very mild weather experienced to date is helping to bring this project to a conclusion.
The stone being lifted in by helicopter is used to create stone sediment traps in the large erosion gullies on the site that will slow the flow of water and trap sediment allowing the revegetation of these gullies. An area of bare peat the size of five football pitches is being spread with 800 bags of sphagnum-rich mulch to enable re-vegetation. Work is also progressing on completing the re-profiling and re-vegetation of 34 kilometres of peat hags and two kilometres of moorland grips across the 137 hectare site. Weather permitting, it is hoped to complete the project before the end of the year.
Strathpeffer based Highland Conservation are undertaking the restoration work with assistance from PDG Helicopters on behalf of the estate and project management is being provided by Stephen Corcoran, Cairngorms Peatland Action Project Officer.
L-R: Brash of mulch; helicopter lifting the skip; stone dam
