Broadhead Clough Nature Reserve is our local Yorkshire Wildlife Trust site, a gorgeous mature upland woodland in Mytholmroyd’s beautiful Cragg Vale (yes, of Cragg Vale Coiners/BBC series The Gallows Pole fame!). Broadhead Clough is an excellent example of clough woodland, typical of the South Pennines.
The project
Slow The Flow volunteers are to begin Natural Flood Management (NFM) work here January 2024 that will enhance and increase the most important habitat of this diverse site, the rare wet woodland bog areas. These special areas can help to slow the flow of floodwater, and reduce the height of the flood peak in our towns and villages; in Mytholmroyd, Luddenden Foot, and further down the catchment looking to West Vale, Elland, Brighouse and beyond.
The Slow The Flow interventions will work with the YWT Woodland Management Plan, and create similar interventions to those at our hugely successful Hardcastle Crags project: generally leaky dams, and contour-placed logs. See the Slow The Flow woodland management Position Statement here.
This site is more challenging than Hardcastle Crags in terms of access; our volunteers will work in smaller groups, for longer sessions, and volunteering at Broadhead Clough will require pre-booking. Hardcastle Crags sessions will continue to run as a shorter ‘turn up on the day’ format, giving our volunteers greater choice.
In addition to slowing the flow of stormwater, the leaky dams and resultant peat bog areas provide additional environmental benefits like diversifying natural habitats for animals, insects, flora and fauna, and sequestering carbon; helping to combat both causes and effects of the twin climate and biodiversity crises.