biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

Westhay Westhay is a village in Somerset, England. It is situated in the parish of Meare, north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district. The name means 'The west field that is enclosed by hedges' from the Old English ''west'' ...

Wedmore Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue, often called the Isle of Wedmore. It forms part of Sedgemoor district. ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Somerset Levels and Moors ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dire ...

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

National Nature Reserve. The low-lying swampy area of Westhay Moor has had peat laid down over older rocks for the last 10,000 years. The

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

people lived on the areas of slightly higher ground but exploited the reed beds for materials and built wooden trackways to cross the

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

.

Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels, in South West England has occurred since the area was first drained by the Romans, and continues today on an area of less than 0.5% of the total geography. The modern system in recycling land back to f ...

has occurred since the area was first drained by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. Measures to improve the drainage were carried out in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

largely by

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

. In the 17th and 18th centuries further drainage work was undertaken including digging a series of

rhyne A rhyne (Somerset), rhine/rhyne (Gloucestershire), or reen (South Wales) (all pronounced "reen"; from Old English ''ryne'' or Welsh ''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin'' "ditch") is a term used in parts of England and Wales for a drainage ditch, or canal ...

s, or ditches and larger drainage canals. Peat extraction peaked in the 1960s but has since declined. The geology of the moor and prolonged peat extraction has provided a unique environment which provides a habitat for a range of flora and fauna. Much of the nature reserve managed by the

Somerset Wildlife Trust Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England. The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature ...

is based around abandoned peatworkings which have now become flooded. It is particularly noted for the millions of

starlings Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

which roost at the site in winter.

Location

Peat bog, Westhay Moor Nature Reserve (geograph 2652283)

Although underlain by much older

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

age formations that protrude to form what would once have been islands—such as

Athelney Athelney is a village located between the villages of Burrowbridge and East Lyng in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English '' æþeling'' meaning "prince" + -''ey'' meaning "isle". Th ...

,

Brent Knoll Brent Knoll is a hill on the Somerset Levels, in Somerset, England. It is located roughly halfway between Weston-super-Mare and Bridgwater, from the Bristol Channel coast at Burnham-on-Sea. At the foot of the hill are two villages East Brent ...

,

Burrow Mump Burrow Mump is a hill and historic site overlooking Southlake Moor in the village of Burrowbridge within the English county of Somerset. It is a scheduled monument, with a never completed church on top of the hill a Grade II listed building. T ...

and

Glastonbury Tor Glastonbury Tor is a hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless St Michael's Tower, a Grade I listed building. The entire site is managed by the National Trust and has been designated a scheduled monument. T ...

, which is composed of

Blue Lias The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassi ...

, the lowland landscape was formed only during the last 10,000 years, following the end of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. As the sea level changed following the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 The peak of the peat formation took place in

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

conditions around 6,000 years ago, although in some areas it continued into medieval times. Westhay Moor forms part of the

Somerset Levels and Moors ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

which is important for its grazing and ditch system, and is crossed by the

River Brue The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by Glastonbury Abbey in the twelft ...

and

Galton's Canal Galton's Canal was a 1-mile 3 furlong (2.2 km) canal with one canal lock, lock, crossing Westhay Moor in Somerset, England, and connecting the River Brue to the North Drain. It was operational by 1822, and ceased to be used after the 1850s ...

. Over much of the moor, the water table is high throughout the year with extensive winter flooding occurring regularly. The level of the water tables can be artificially lowered during active working of the

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

excavations, but for much of the year these are often filled with water.

History

Westhay Moor originally lay at the centre of the most northerly of the two lowland raised bogs that formed in the lower Brue Valley. They reached their greatest extent at the end of the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. The

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

people exploited the reedswamps for their natural resources and started to construct wooden

trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackway ...

s such as the

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

and

Post Track The Post Track is an ancient causeway in the valley of the River Brue on the Somerset Levels, England. It dates from around 3838 BCE, making it some 30 years older than the Sweet Track in the same area. Various sections have been scheduled as an ...

s. The Sweet Track, named after the peat digger who discovered it in 1970 and dating from the 3800s BCE, is the world's oldest

timber trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways ...

, once thought to be the world's oldest engineered roadway. The track was built between what was in the early 4th millennium BCE an island at

Westhay Westhay is a village in Somerset, England. It is situated in the parish of Meare, north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district. The name means 'The west field that is enclosed by hedges' from the Old English ''west'' ...

and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, close to the

River Brue The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by Glastonbury Abbey in the twelft ...

. The remains of similar tracks have been uncovered nearby, connecting settlements on the

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

including the Honeygore, Abbotts Way, Bells, Bakers, Westhay and Nidons trackways. The

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

,

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

of the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendip Hills, Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to ...

was displayed at the

Peat Moors Centre The Peat Moors Centre lay on the road between Shapwick and Westhay in Somerset, England. The centre was run by the Somerset Historic Environment Service, but Somerset County Council closed it in October 2009 in the course of budget cuts. T ...

until its closure in 2009. The centre also included reconstructions of some of the archaeological discoveries, including a number of

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

round houses from

Glastonbury Lake Village Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, situated on a crannog or man made island in the Somerset Levels, near Godney, some north west of Glastonbury in the southwestern English county of Somerset. It has been designated as a schedul ...

, and the Sweet Track. The eastern part of the moor was covered by

Meare Pool Meare Pool (also known as Ferlingmere, Ferran Mere or Meare fish pool) was a lake in the Somerset Levels in South West England. Lake villages existed there in prehistoric times. During medieval times it was an important fishery, but following exte ...

which was formed by water ponding-up behind the raised peat bogs between the Wedmore and the

Polden Hills Polden may refer to: * Chilton Polden, rural village and civil parish near Edington, north of the Polden Hills in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England * East Polden Grasslands, Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Polden Hills in Somer ...

, and coring has shown that it is filled with at least of detritus mud, mainly dating from the

Subatlantic The Subatlantic is the current climatic age of the Holocene epoch. It started about 2,500 years BP and is still ongoing. Its average temperatures are slightly lower than during the preceding Subboreal and Atlantic. During its course, the tempe ...

climatic period (1st millennium BC). In prehistoric times there were two

Meare Lake Village Meare Lake Village is the site of an Iron Age settlement on the Somerset Levels at Meare, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Description In prehistoric times there were two villages situated within the now-drained Meare Pool, ...

s situated within the lake, occupied at different times between 300 BCE and 100 CE, similar to the nearby Glastonbury Lake Village. Early drainage work was carried out in the later years of the 12th century, with the responsibility for maintaining all the watercourses between Glastonbury and the sea being placed on named individuals among whom were Ralph de Sancta Barbara of Brentmarsh. Drainage of the surrounding area by monks of

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

had reduced the size of the lake to at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Meare Pool had disappeared from maps by 1749. The Meare Pool originally collected the waters of the rivers

Brue Brue ( gd, Brù) is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the West Side district, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It is a crofting township and it is composed of two areas: Am Baile Staigh, which is nearer the coast, and Pàirc Bhrù, which runs to ...

and Sheppey, and discharged in a northerly direction into the Lower River Axe. In the later years of the 12th century the abbey diverted the Brue to flow westwards, perhaps largely through natural channels, from Meare Pool to join the river Parrett. North Drain, Westhay Moor (geograph 2652297)

North Drain, Westhay Moor (geograph 2652297)

In the early 17th century plans were made to drain and enclose much of

Sedgemoor Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part Wes ...

. Further reclamation was carried out in stages between about 1620 and 1740, with the "new Cutts" (or Decoy Rhyne) being built about 1660. The rivers Sheppey and Hartlake were canalised into the River James Wear and Division Rhyne sometime in the late 1730s. In 1795,

John Billingsley John Billingsley (, born May 20, 1960) is an American actor best known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. Early life and education Billingsley was born in Media, Pennsylvania, and subsequently live ...

advocated

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

and the digging of

rhyne A rhyne (Somerset), rhine/rhyne (Gloucestershire), or reen (South Wales) (all pronounced "reen"; from Old English ''ryne'' or Welsh ''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin'' "ditch") is a term used in parts of England and Wales for a drainage ditch, or canal ...

s (a local name for drainage channels, pronounced "reens" in the east and rhyne to the west) between plots, and wrote in his ''Agriculture of the County of Somerset'' that had been enclosed in the last 20 years in

Wedmore Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue, often called the Isle of Wedmore. It forms part of Sedgemoor district. ...

and

Meare Meare is a village and civil parish north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Westhay. History Meare is a marshland village in typical Somerset "rhyne" coun ...

, at Nyland, at Blackford, at

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, in Shapwick, and at

Westhay Westhay is a village in Somerset, England. It is situated in the parish of Meare, north west of Glastonbury on the Somerset Levels, in the Mendip district. The name means 'The west field that is enclosed by hedges' from the Old English ''west'' ...

. In the 1810s Samuel Galton Jr. showed that bogs could be drained and dressed with clay and other soil, and built Galton's Canal. The character of the soil was also changed by the spreading of clay and silt from the digging of King's Sedgemoor Drain. Galton's Canal was a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

with one

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, connecting the

River Brue The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by Glastonbury Abbey in the twelft ...

to the

North Drain The North Drain flows westerly from Hurn Sluice on the River Sheppey to the North Drain Pumping Station at the River Brue, in Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , ...

. It was operational by 1822, and ceased to be used after the 1850s. The land is drained by a series of

rhyne A rhyne (Somerset), rhine/rhyne (Gloucestershire), or reen (South Wales) (all pronounced "reen"; from Old English ''ryne'' or Welsh ''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin'' "ditch") is a term used in parts of England and Wales for a drainage ditch, or canal ...

s, or ditches with water levels (and hence the level of the

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

) being controlled by a system of

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

gates and pumps. The

water resource management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is Saline water, salt water and only three percent is fresh ...

operations are managed by the Somerset

internal drainage board An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management withi ...

. In the early 18th century several duck decoys were built on the moor. These consisted of a pool of water leading from which are from one to eight curving, tapering ditches. Over each ditch is a series of hoops, initially made from wood, later from iron, which diminish in size as the ditch tapers. The hoops are covered in netting. The combination of ditch and net-covered hoops is known as a pipe.

Peat extraction

Large areas of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

were laid down on the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendip Hills, Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to ...

, particularly in the

River Brue The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by Glastonbury Abbey in the twelft ...

Valley, during the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

period after the ice sheets melted.

Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels, in South West England has occurred since the area was first drained by the Romans, and continues today on an area of less than 0.5% of the total geography. The modern system in recycling land back to f ...

has occurred since the area was first drained by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. The raised bogs were extensively dug for

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

for use as fuel up until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

after which the primary market was for horticulture. Large parts of Westhay Moor have now been dug back to the underlying clay exposing estuarine deposits dating from about 6000 BP before isolation from the sea and peat formation began. The introduction of plastic packaging in the 1950s allowed the peat to be packed without rotting, which led to the industrialisation of peat extraction during the 1960s as a major market in

horticultural Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

peat was developed. However, the resultant reduction in water levels that resulted put local

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s at risk; peat wastage in pasture fields was occurring at rates of over 100 years. In 1970 the

Somerset Wildlife Trust Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England. The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature ...

bought the first part of the last of acid raised bog vegetation left on the Somerset Moors undamaged by peat digging or agriculture. Since then SWT have bought or been given of former peatworkings. These were sculpted and restored to wetland as the experimental area for the Avalon Marshes. This was the term given in the late 1980s to describe the wetland restored from peat workings in the Brue Valley. The wetland on the clay is dominated by ''

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...

'' reed, catstail and open water. The wetland restoration has been a great success and was declared a National Nature Reserve in 1995. Peat working is now beginning to draw to a close on Westhay Moor and the majority of the remaining peatworkings are now being restored to wetland as they are completed. In 2014 two land owners unsuccessfully appealed against changes in planning permission which removed their rights to dig peat from Westhay Moor.

Ecology

Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve - geograph

Westhay Moor supports a nationally outstanding community of terrestrial and aquatic

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

. At least 28 nationally notable invertebrate species also occur on the moor. The meadows, ditches, abandoned peat workings and hedgerows provide suitable breeding habitats for a diverse and nationally important breeding bird community. It is part of the

Brue Valley Living Landscape The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by Glastonbury Abbey in the twelfth ...

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

project. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s; joining together protected areas into a network to enable plant and animal movement. It aims to ensure that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of

landscape scale conservation Landscape-scale conservation is a holistic approach to landscape management, aiming to reconcile the competing objectives of nature conservation and economic activities across a given landscape. Landscape-scale conservation may sometimes be atte ...

projects in the UK. Part of the moor has been designated as a nature reserve, covering , which is managed by the

Somerset Wildlife Trust Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England. The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature ...

. In addition to open water and reedbeds, it contains a fragment of acid mire, the largest to have survived in the south west of England. The reserve provides habitat for many varieties of birds, which includes millions of

starlings Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

between November and January, along with

bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern" ...

and migrating

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

s.

Otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

and

banded demoiselle The banded demoiselle (''Calopteryx splendens'') is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is often found along slow-flowing streams and rivers. It is a Eurasian species occurring from the Atlantic coast eastwards to ...

s are among other species which have made their home on the moor. A large bird hide, reached via a raised boardwalk, has been erected. Westhay Moor is also notified as part of the

Somerset Levels and Moors ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

under the EU

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dire ...

and as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

National Nature Reserve.

References

External links

{{SSSIs Somerset biological Somerset Levels National nature reserves in Somerset Wetland Sites of Special Scientific Interest Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1971 Ramsar sites in England Birdwatching sites in England