Live project
Working with West Lothian Council in Armadale, our forestry works are protecting peatland, improving biodiversity and making the site safer for visitors.
Introduction
We were commissioned by West Lothian Council to protect the recently restored peatland habitat at Black Moss, Armadale.
We investigated opportunities to enhance biodiversity, mitigate the impacts of climate change and improve the site for visitors.
The Council had previously made progres towards rewetting this lowland raised bog site through tree removal and dam blocking. However, the recovering habitat was being threatened by non-native conifers on the edge of the bog. They were creating a seed source onto the delicate habitat and were removing water from the edge of the bog. These aging trees had also become unsafe, posing a threat to visitors. The density of the plantation was attracting antisocial behaviour.
Following community consultation, we worked with the Council to remove some 2.6 hectares of conifer trees and re-plant the area with native broadleaf species including oak, rowan and hazel.
Our forestry works are:
We worked with a local contractor to clear vegetation from the edges of the curling pond. This has increased the area of open water available for wildlife. A new pond dipping platform will allow visitors to have a closer look.
See our project timeline below for more detail on the stages of these works.
There is scope for further peatland restoration works and to continue to make the site more accessible to visitors.
What is being achieved
This project has the potential to deliver multiple outcomes, across these key areas:
Improving access to quality greenspace for local residents and visitors.
Management of non-native conifers to encourage native species.
Meadow and wetland management and peatland conservation action.
Peatlands are one of the most important natural stores of carbon in Scotland. When they are functioning properly, they can also absorb carbon from the environment. They are threatened by drying out where they have been drained, and from trees, especially non-native conifers growing.
The conifers around the High School, and to the other edges of Black Moss to the south and east were producing seeds which have been identified as a risk to the bog. These trees had not been managed and were becoming over-large, and have been a location for anti-social behaviour.
By removing these conifers, we open the site up, making it lighter and more visible. Replacing the conifers with native, broadleaved trees will benefit biodiversity, as will allowing the bog edge to develop more naturally.
Click on the site map to see the areas we have been working on to improve the peatland and manage the woodlands.
There is scope to improve upon some of the existing habitats at Black Moss to further develop biodiversity, including:
Black Moss Nature Park is a lowland raised bog. This habitat is rare within the Central Belt, and is important for species such as ground nesting birds, moths and butterflies.
Callum McLaren, Ecology and Biodiversity Officer, West Lothian Council, says, “It’s such a small percentage of our national habitat that any small area is really important. These local sites form important nodes for species to be able to move through – and Black Moss is part of West Lothian Council’s nature network.”
Healthy peatlands also play an important role in mitigating climate change. In this short video, filmed for the Central Scotland Green Network, Callum explains the importance of our forestry works in storing carbon.
Works to restore and protect the peatland has been done in stages, as funding became available and in response to community consultation.
West Lothian Council had been working at Black Moss with local volunteer groups, including the Friends of Black Moss and Butterfly Conservation’s Bog Squad, on peatland conservation, woodland management and litter picking.
In 2015, the Council restored the peatland and rewetted the site through reprofiling work and blocking peat dams. They also removed a small amount of non-native conifer. This was done using NatureScot’s Peatland Action funding.
Monitoring by NatureScot found that the number of indicator species, including sphagnum mosses, increased following the works.
We started with a survey to gather local feedback in July 2023. Conifers near the High School and to the southern and eastern perimeters were identified as producing seeds which were a risk to the bog. These trees were too tall and becoming unsafe, particularly in light of increasingly fierce storms. The dense plantation was identified as the location for anti-social behaviour.
Our first job was therefore to remove some 2.6 hectares of conifer trees and replant the area with native species including oak, rowan, birch, willow and hazel. This is protecting the peatland, helping prevent erosion, benefiting biodiversity, and allowing the bog edge to develop more naturally. It has also opened the site up, making it lighter and more visible. The area of grassland to the east of the site has been kept as a wildflower meadow with fruit trees.
In 2025, we worked with a local contractor to clear vegetation from the curling pond, which is an important part of the site’s habitat mosaic. An ecological report from the Council identified some 300 square metres of material to be removed from the pond edges. This has increased the area of open water available for wildlife whilst retaining a large area of wetland vegetation which acts as a natural edge to the bog habitat.
The next step for these ponds is to install a dipping platform. This will allow people to explore the ponds in closer detail, and is a resource that can be used by local schools. These pond works were completed using Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration fund, administered by GAT.
There is scope for more peatland restoration works to hold more water on the main bog, helping it to function as it should.
Read more about a Biodiversity Month event we ran with West Lothian Council for local people to learn more about Black Moss.
