Urgent Appeal Launched to Protect and Restore Fire- Damaged Nature Reserves in Staffordshire

The plea follows a series of devastating fires, including at The Roaches, Ipstones Edge and earlier this month at Snake Pass (in Derbyshire). The moorlands are home to many rare ground-nesting birds such as curlew and lapwings, as well as many species of plants including bog asphodel, heather and sphagnum moss. The Trust is stepping up efforts to prevent future fires; they also need to restore habitats already ravaged by fire.

Fires can tear through fragile moorland and grasslands in a matter of hours,
destroying years of careful conservation work. They leave wildlife like ground nesting birds, insects and brown hares without shelter, food or breeding grounds. Recover can take decades, even with the intervention and dedicated restoration work of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

Now, they are appealing for donations to fund essential work, including fire
prevention measures, habitat restoration, and ongoing care for vulnerable sites.

“Fires are one of the biggest threats to our nature reserves,”

said Charlie Forrest- King, who works to care for Staffordshire Wildlife Trust reserves and lives in Stoke-on-Trent.

“We’re working hard to reduce the risk through better peatland restoration, firebreaks and public awareness. When fires do happen, with training and equipment we can act quickly to reduce the risk, but the damage is immediate and severe. We need support to restore these places and give nature a fighting chance to recover.”

For volunteers like John Pears, who has spent years caring for The Roaches, the impact is deeply personal,

“I’ll never forget my first visit after the fire. It was gut wrenching to see everything gone,”

After tirelessly helping to restore the habitat for local wildlife, they were left crushed when fire ripped through the site in 2018.

“To see all our hard work go up in flames was incredibly demoralising. We’d created a space for special wildlife that has nowhere else to go. So much was lost in the fire.

You feel helpless, and it’s a constant worry it might happen again. What’s at stake can’t be underestimated – it takes decades for peat to form and you can still see the scorch marked peat today.”

Restoring The Roaches following the fire is an ongoing team effort. Dedicated volunteers have planted thousands of sphagnum moss plug plants covering an impressive 687m2 (27.5 hectares). More than 30,000 other staple moorland plants, such as cotton grass, have also been planted. Other work to restore the rare and precious blanket bog habitat has included blocking artificial drainage ditches by installing over 600 dams to hold water back and rewet the peat.

A race against time Longer, hotter summers are increasing the risk of severe moorland fires, making urgent action more critical than ever.

People are being urged to act now and donate.

Support will help to:
 Create and maintain firebreaks to slow or stop the spread of fires
 Restore damaged habitats so wildlife can return
 Support volunteers and conservation staff on the ground
 Raise awareness to help prevent fires before they start.

To donate and support the appeal,

visit: www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/summer-appeal-2026 or call 01889 880100.

Every donation will help to protect and restore Staffordshire’s wild places.