FiPL is a dedicated grant programme, delivered by the Peak District National Park Authority on behalf of DEFRA, for farmers and land managers in National Parks and National Landscapes. Grants are awarded to projects which aim to make improvements to nature, climate, people or place in the Peak District.
The funding, totalling more than £22,000, will support vital habitat restoration across Rose End Meadows and Gang Mine, near Cromford, as part of the Trust's ambitious Derwent Living Forest nature restoration programme across the Derbyshire Derwent catchment.
At Rose End Meadows, the project will restore a historic dew pond, home to a known population of Great Crested Newts, and across both sites, different techniques will be adopted to boost plant species diversity in the grasslands.
Dew ponds were once widespread across upland farmland, originally created to provide drinking water for livestock. They became a striking feature of the White Peak landscape and a vital habitat for amphibians and invertebrates, but over 90% have been lost in the Peak District since Roman times.
Restoration will include draining the pond, removing silt, and relining it with a protective geotextile underlay and durable membrane. While limestone sets, reclaimed from the site, will be reused to rebuild the pond base.
Natural materials gathered on site, including silt and woody debris, will also be used to create habitat for amphibians and reptiles to hibernate.
To restore species rich grassland habitat at Gang Mine, green hay has been cut and collected from a nearby species-rich donor site and spread over the meadow to allow native seeds to germinate and establish. Livestock were temporarily removed, and then reintroduced to graze the new growth, helping to embed the seeds and manage the meadow going forward.
At Rose End Meadows, small strips of land have been scarified to break up competitive grasses. Seeds collected from around the site during the Summer months have been sown on the newly created bare areas to increase species abundance and provide a future seed source.
The work is being carried out alongside a neighbouring quarry, located between the two nature reserves. The quarry’s own restored land offers an opportunity to create wildlife corridors between the sites, and by working together on shared grazing plans, the long-term management of this landscape is being shaped to support nature’s recovery.
While the primary focus of this project is wetland and grassland restoration, enhancing invertebrate biodiversity is part of the wider aims. A study has identified both sites as potentially suitable for the reintroduction of the minotaur beetle, a once widespread dung beetle now in decline.
Dung beetles play a key role in nutrient cycling, and their absence is an indicator of wider declines in biodiversity and toxins in the environment. Surveys and monitoring, including dung surveys and baited pitfall traps, will assess the presence of the species to help determine habitat suitability for the future.
