What does Ilkley Moor mean to you? Our researchers want to know... 

Researchers from the School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences at the University of Bradford are interested in hearing your views about Ilkley Moor’s peatland and its heritage. 

Dr Ben Jennings and Dr Abbi Flint are part of an international project, working with universities in the Netherlands and Ireland, to explore approaches to the heritage of wetlands. Ben said: “Wetlands are a hugely important form of landscape that we have in West Yorkshire but they are at risk from a variety of factors. From a heritage and archaeological perspective, wetlands and peatlands are not only one of the most significant stores we have for past climate and environment indicators but they also contain a wide variety of cultural heritage material.” 

Ben and Abbi are keen to hear from local people who either spend time on or are interested in Ilkley Moor through a short online questionnaire. The questionnaire asks about people’s views on wetland heritage more widely as well as their experiences and views of the peatland heritage of Ilkley Moor. 

You can complete the online questionnaire here. 

Abbi said: “it’s so important for us to get a sense of what these landscapes and their heritage mean to people. It’s been a challenging year to get out and speak with people face-to-face, so we really appreciate everyone who takes the time to share their views via the online questionnaire. 

“What we learn from this research will help us understand the different ways people use and think about this heritage, which will help us to further raise awareness about the value of these fantastic wetland and peatland landscapes.” 

Abbi and Ben aim to share the learning from the questionnaire with local community groups, so look out for more about this research later in the year. 

You can keep up to date with developments as part of the Wetland Futures in Contested Environments Project at the project website here: www.wetfutures.eu or by following the project on twitter at: wetfutures  

Find the questionnaire here: https://bradford.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/uk-wetlands-and-their-heritage-ilkley-moor