'GHOST ponds' in Cheshire are being brought back to life as one of the biggest National Trust nature conservation projects undertaken in the county comes to an end.

Since 2021, the charity has seen more than 20,000 trees planted at its locations in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, while around 4km of hedgrerows have been established or improved.

The project has also seen around 40 hectares of the county's grassland created or improved, new wetlands created for wildlife, and invasive plant species removed at National Trust beauty spots.

To deliver the project in less than a year, the charity assembled a task force of its rangers, volunteers, and a group of veterans, who have been hard at work to make Cheshire one of England’s greenest and most biodiverse counties.

Part of the their work has seen 'ghost ponds' in Alderley Edge return.

Using historic maps of the Edge, the team have identified and restored a series of dried-up ponds, originally created by pre-Victorian miners digging for minerals.

Now, conservation work is helping these once wildlife-rich ponds spring back to life, allowing seeds that have laid dormant for more than 100 years to grow once again and encouraging dragonflies, beetles, and other water-borne invertebrates back to the beauty spot. 

Eleanor Underhill, National Trust assistant director in the North West, said: “In less than 12 months our rangers, volunteers, and partners have given Cheshire and Greater Manchester a much-needed nature boost. 

“By creating corridors for native wildlife and planting tens of thousands of trees, we’re looking far into the future to create landscape-scale change around places like Quarry Bank and Lyme Park. 

“And by using natural flood management techniques, we’re working with nature to build our resilience to flooding and help to protect our local communities too. 

“This work has all been made possible thanks to funding from Defra and the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, and thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. 

“Working through some really challenging conditions this winter, this has been a truly monumental effort that will make Cheshire a greener, healthier, and more beautiful place for hundreds of years to come.” 

National Trust efforts around Cheshire

  • At Lyme Park, natural flood management techniques have been used to help protect the 16th century mansion, its garden, and the surrounding communities from the impact of flooding following a devastating flood in 2019
  • At Quarry Bank, improvements to hedgerows will create much-needed wildlife corridors, providing nesting and foraging habitat for a huge range of wildlife including bats, stoats, polecats, and farmland birds - Quarry Bank rangers are hopeful the conservation project will see the return of brightly-coloured yellowhammers to the site, which are currently on the UK ‘red list’ for birds of conservation concern
  • Green-fingered veterans group Green Taskforce have been working alongside The Mersey Forest team and National Trust rangers to plant trees and restore hedges at Dunham Massey - The ex-forces team helped to plant around 5,750 trees and shrubs at Stamford Farm on the National Trust estate, creating woodlands and hedgerows that will help to capture carbon and create thriving, species-rich green corridors that better connect existing wildlife habitats

Mark West, operations manager at Green Taskforce, said: “This partnership is extremely exciting for our veteran community.

"With more than one in six serving and former service personnel who have seen combat suffering some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it is giving us the opportunity to both socialise and work together once again, in an environment we all feel familiar with.

"Working outdoors offers an additional sense of belonging and comfort to all, learning new skills to channel our focus and energy to complement our existing drive and strong work ethics along the way."