The digger is back! The work on our sites this season will mostly involve blocking old drainage ditches, rather than reprofiling hags. Blocking these ditches will help to slow the flow of water off the hills and keep the #peat wet 💦

Autumn has definitely arrived on our hills. The sphagnum moss is starting to show it's true colours and the cottongrass is turning the hills copper. Surely this is one of the most beautiful times of the year? 😊 #peatland

Fabulous #fungi 😍 No is a great time to see what fungi can be found on the hills. This orange one was so small that it was only noticeable due to its vibrant colour. If anyone would like to suggest what it is we'd be very grateful 🙏

It was great to be joined by reporter Josh last week, for a tour of one of our #peatland restoration sites 😊 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The slow, muddy work of saving the Isle of Man's ancient bogs

Sarah Hickey and her team help keep nearly 20,000 acres of upland in the Isle of Man healthy.

bbc.co.uk

Our site at Black Hut has been enjoying the sunshine and showers! As well as benefitting the sphagnum moss that was planted last winter, this weather has encouraged the growth of other mosses, heather and fungi 🍄

Some beautiful colours in a rather desolate landscape 😊 This site was badly burned by a fire more than fifty years ago. We're planning to trial some techniques to reduce the erosion and help revegetate this area, but this will be a long process with around 15 hectares damaged by the fire.

Who's been eating all the berries? 👀 The blaeberries are pretty much over now, but the birds have enjoyed a feast, judging by their droppings! Crowberries can still be found on the hills if you look hard, as these pathogen-resistant fruits can last throughout the winter 😊

Before we even finished installing this dam we were visited by a beautiful common hawker dragonfly laying her eggs in the sphagnum moss 😍

Monitoring of our #peatland restoration sites is required every couple of years, to check if any maintenance is needed, and it was great to see that much of the work at Mullagh Ouyr was hardly visible 😊

Just look at how much this sphagnum has grown 😍 These small clumps of #sphagnum moss were planted by a hardy group of volunteers in November last year and have increased to around six times their size in about eight months! #peatland

To follow on from the previous post, this is what can happen once eroding ditches are 'zipped' shut. Instead of a deep eroding ditch, we have a damp area of hillside with sphagnum moss blooming 😊 These damp areas are important for wildlife, especially during prolonged dry weather.

Why do we need to do restoration work on the hills? This drainage ditch has continued to erode many years after it was dug, leaving it very deep and very hidden - a hazard for livestock and any unsuspecting walkers or runners!

We definitely need more rain 🙏🏻💦 however it is good to see that our work is helping to keep the hills wet. Slowing the flow of water is especially important in prolonged dry weather, but is also important after heavy rain as it can reduce erosion 😊 #peatland

Most of our work is focussed on upland peat sites, so it was a nice change to visit this lowland site this morning. Areas of open water are fringed with aromatic bog myrtle and full of bullrush and water mint. Add the hum of insects and it was a real feast for the senses 😊

A quick visit to this site today showed how much the vegetation has enjoyed the sunshine and showers 😊Restoration work has transformed this site from an eroding #peat pipe to a shallow pool, which looks much nicer and is better for wildlife 🦋🐦

Yesterday we were lucky enough to be joined by fabulous singer songwriter David Gray for a tour of some of the Island's curlew breeding sites. David is a patron of Curlew Action and 'The Curlew' perfectly captures the magic of these birds: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKfy...

Have you ever wondered where our restoration sites are and what we've been doing? Wonder no more! We now have a page on our website showing where we've been working, what we've been doing and why 😊 www.manxpeat.org/sites

Bog beacons brightening up the bog 😍 This #fungus is only found in really wet areas and is scarce 💦 It feeds on rotting leaves, mosses and algae, breaking them into compounds that provide nutrients for other plants 🌿 They have a whitish stem, which is hidden under the water in this photo.

The #peat at this site was historically cut for fuel, leaving bare eroding 'peat pans'. We used a digger for reprofiling then got to work by hand, with lots of help from volunteers 🙏 It will be several years before we really start to see the impact of the work, but initial signs are promising 😊

Some lovely finds today while surveying a site 😊 This unassuming hummock of sphagnum moss was home to carnivorous sundews, several orchids and a tiny lesser twayblade 😍 It's amazing what you can find when you look closely! 🌿

Nice to see this fungi growing on an area of bare #peat on Beinn-y-Phott 😀 Not sure what it is though, so if anyone has any ideas please let us know! 🍄

Today is hot hot hot 🥵 Luckily most of our shallow #peatland pools are still wet 💦 which is great news for invertebrates and birds 😊

Time for a yarn? Could local wool 🐏be returned to the #Manx hills to help with #peatland restoration? That’s what we’re hoping to find out by trialling wool logs on our restoration sites. Read all about it in our latest blog 🧐👇 www.manxpeat.org/blog/time-fo...

Time for a yarn? — Manx Peat Partnership

Could local wool be returned to the hills to help with restoration work?

manxpeat.org

The weather is looking lovely this weekend, so if you're heading for the hills, or just fancy finding out about #peatland wildlife, have a listen to the Wild Thing podcast from Manx Radio 😊 We've also included a link on our website 👇 www.manxpeat.org/media

Not long now until the hills turn white with fluffy cottongrass seed heads 😍 Cottongrass loves wet, peaty habitats and spreads by seed and by underground rhizomes. It is particularly good for covering areas of bare peat and providing shelter for sphagnum moss to become established 🌿

Not long now until the hills turn white with fluffy cottongrass seed heads 😍 Cottongrass loves wet, peaty habitats and spreads by seed and by underground rhizomes. It is particularly good for covering areas of bare peat and providing shelter for sphagnum moss to become established 🌿

Thanks to the lovely people who joined us for a guided walk around one of our peatland restoration sites on Wednesday 😍 We discussed #peatlands, their #wildlife, their historical and cultural importance, and were treated to a visit by a male hen harrier 😊 The weather wasn't too bad either😉

The marsh violets are flowering among the Sphagnum moss 🌸😍 These flowers arise from creeping underground runners and typically bloom from April to July. Like us, they love #bogs, #peat and marshy ground 😁 💦

To wear a winter coat or not 🤔 is one of the difficult decisions you might have to make at this time of year 😉 Don't worry, you're not alone! This mountain hare has gone for the 'half on, half off' approach, which seems very sensible given the changing weather and temperatures 😎🥶

It's that time of year when the hills are alive with new growth 😍 This moss, known as 'bog haircap moss', is glowing with capsules held on slender red stems, called 'seta'. Once the capsules mature, they will release their spores to the wind, allowing the moss to disperse 💨🌿