Local News
Issue 1139
Call 0114 283 1100
12th November 2020
www.looklocal.org.uk
5
THIEVES STRIKE AT LIBRARY ECCLESFIELD Library have reported that they have suffered yet another theft from their garden on October 30. On this occasion, someone, wearing a hoodie and boots dug up a conifer tree and took it home with them. A spokesperson for the library said: “Ecclesfield Library is a non-profit charity run by volunteers for the local community. “We now have a lovely outside area, cared for by our volunteer gardener, and all the plants in our garden are paid for by donations. “We would like to ask that whoever keeps taking things please stop. Our library, and the garden, are here for the benefit of our local community.”
Chocks away: helicopters get busy for moorland conservation THIS is another busy year for Moors for the Future Partnership’s conservation activities. With the building of over 6,000 dams and the spreading of over 3,500 bags of heather brash across the Peak District and South Pennine moors, these heavy materials need to get on to the remote moors and the Partnership is working with contractors to ensure it can continue protecting the environment despite the challenges of a second lockdown. It takes months to build several thousand dams, and is a race against time to get the work finished before the birds begin to nest again in spring. The building work cannot start until the materials are on the moors, and the only feasible way to do this is to fly them in via helicopter. Helicopters don’t cause damage to the precious moorland landscape. They can also carry greater loads of materials much more quickly than ground vehicles can. Moors for the Future Partnership’s carbon audit has shown that the resulting healthy moorland environment will absorb more carbon
than the helicopters will have emitted during conservation activities. Similarly, 3,500 bags of heather brash need to be airlifted onto the moors to be spread onto the bare peat and begin to revegetate it. So that the helicopters are available later on in the season to airlift this heather brash, they need to be freed up. This means that the helicopters have to have finished the task of getting the materials for dams onto the moors before they can airlift the heather brash. Adding to this complicated logistical operation, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of the operations, but the team has been working hard to get the work completed as early as possible. Between August and October 2019, over 2,000 dams were constructed, but in August to October 2020, over 6,000 dams were built. Chris Dean, head of programme delivery at Moors for the Future Partnership, said: “The conservation works season is always a very busy time of year for our staff, contrac-
tors and partners. This year everyone involved is putting in a huge amount of effort to ensure that the work gets done despite the increased challenges. With six months of experience of our new ways of working, we have robust COVID secure procedures and processes that will ensure that everyone stays safe while completing this work that is vital to protect our moors.” So as lockdown begins the skies above the moors continue to be busy with helicopters, working as quickly as they can, taking advantage of every good weather window. On the ground, meanwhile, sociallydistanced works parties, working in “cells” are hard at work constructing the dams. The dams are used to block drainage channels called grips and gullies to help slow the flow of water, reducing the risk of flooding, as well as helping to rewet the moors. This in turn improves the health of the moorland, providing a better habitat for the bog plants that live there.
Events to raise funds for Captain Tobias’ chair AN event called ‘Just for Tobias’ is to take place, with proceeds going towards a specially adapted car chair for ‘Captain’ Tobias Weller. Tobias featured in a recent edition of Look Local after raising an incredible £150,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Paces Special School in High Green. Tobias’ mum wants to buy him a specially adapted car seat at a cost of £7,500 and local community consultant Kathy Marwick has arranged two free online Facebook events to help raise these funds.
On Sunday November, there will be an event at 2pm with the amazing John Taylor and on Sunday November 29 at 2pm, local duo Stevie Moore and Patricia Lynn will perform. There will be an hour of live music at both events and you can donate to the fund at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/janet-thornton-1 The nine-year-old has caught the attention of the nation with this Marathon Challenges – walking 26.2 miles in March, April and May and running a further marathon using a race runner in June and July culminating in
a Yorkshire Day finish on 1 August alongside Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. The money is being split between his two favourite charities – Paces, the High Green special school where he is a pupil, and Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where he regularly visits for treatment. Tobias has Cerebral Palsy and Autism and cannot walk or stand unaided. But, during the coronavirus lockdown, he wanted to challenge himself.
