Mosslands Gateway

C3MosslandsGatewayReport.pdf (carbonlandscape.org.uk)

This project has grown from the partnership working in the Carbon Landscape. The Woodland Trust, Salford City Council, Natural England and the Carbon Landscape Programme team  identified the need and opportunity to reconnect the Cadishead and Irlam community with the mossland landscape on their doorstep. The Mossland Gateway improves pedestrian and cyclist accessibility to Chat Moss whilst creating mini mosses, new wet woodland and interactive trails. The visitor experience is helped by the magnificent Irlam Train Station (brainchild of HDT) which provides a refreshment hub and place to start the “peatlands safari”.

Achievements: 

• Restored the wet woodland and created a new mossland, pond and ditch habitat to help keep the Willow Tits, bring back the Water Voles and provide a key stepping stone for wetland wildlife across the mossland area.
• Developed an adventure trail and gateway that will bring in the community into the newly restored habitat.

The biggest achievement of the new Mosslands gateway has been its ability to become an enabler for newfound creativity in local young people. Previously only really used by professional dog walkers, that all changed with the involvement of local primary schools, especially Cadishead Primary. They were given the opportunity to become designers of a Nature Trail with Carbon Landscape trainees Jade and Hanifah leading the workshops.

“This is the best day ever.”

Post pandemic, young people in their teens and twenties (with support from the Manchester Universities, Leeds University and Manchester Literature Festival) have led sublime poetry and songwriting. ‘Songs of Resilience’ examines how writing songs and making music videos might help us to bring the voices of young people into debates on climate. The end product is special: Undoing - Song from 'Songs of Resilience' project - mmutube Finally the launch involved Deep Cabaret and their “beWILDer world as kin - Songs of Attention and Reciprocity”. The reaction of audience was magical:

"Gorgeous and stirring" and "Wonderful and invigorating."

Into the future

New Moss Wood is now a community asset which embodies everything we would want from a Mossland gateway. It comprises of a physical metal gateway, Nature Play Trail, original music video, and inspiring soundscape audio trails about the “ghost wolf” and a literary trail to encourage creative thinking. Finally, is the adjacent bridleway that leads to Little Woolden Moss with an Augmented Reality (AR) trail where bog wildlife “pops out” before your very eyes and scripts written by Friends of Chat Moss.