Conservation at Gomde

Stewardship of Gomde UK

Countryside Stewardship is a government scheme designed to protect and enhance the diverse nature of England’s landscape, habitats and wildlife. The entire estate is now managed under the HLS scheme

Our plan is to re-establish the traditional habitat which has been degraded due to the industrial milling of the peat and the subsequent drying out of the land. We aim to restore peatland, heathland, acidic grassland, ancient woodland and orchards. This is done through various techniques including the removal of invasive species and re-wetting in some areas. All the methods we use are designed to protect the habitat and wildlife, and the use of chemicals is kept to an absolute minimum. The funds received will help pay for things like fencing and machinery.

We also work in partnership with the Lindholme Old Moor Management Group (LOM), a group of experts whose remit is our 60 acres of uncut peatland. This valuable and essential expertise enables us to properly manage this very rare resource. We have recently been given a grant by The Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Landscape partnership which is being used to provide an in depth survey of our ancient / veteran oaks helping establish any remedial works to help preserve and protect the trees.

Lindholme Old Moor Management Group

Invertebrate interest

Thorne Moors contains the fourth-largest assemblage of rare insect species of any British site. Hatfield Moor, though still under-recorded, is in the top ten such sites.

So far, the recorded insect fauna of both moors exceeds 5,500 species — around 25% of all British insect species — with over 30 Red Data Book species and over 250 nationally scarce species. Six species are known in no other sites in Britain, including three that were new to Britain in 1992.