WHO ARE WE?
Friends of Blacka Moor is an informal grouping of people with a common interest in Blacka and in maintaining its unique appeal. What chiefly characterises us is that we actually use Blacka Moor. We regularly walk the site in all seasons.
FoBM is not, as yet, a formally established society or charity with a recorded membership and constitution. Each of us is free thinking and with a slightly different perspective on the issues that have recently come to the fore. Nevertheless we share a considerable level of agreement on how the future maintenance administration and management of the area should be approached. Just as Blacka has been evolving so have our own views. We first came together when we saw that the site as an informal recreation area with considerable appeal to numerous groups was likely to be compromised as a result of the council giving the land to Sheffield Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve.
The following is a list of some of the fundamental positions we are agreed on:
1 Fences are incompatible with the openness of the site. Where they have existed for many years obviously this cannot easily be changed but new ones should be resisted.
2 There should be no restrictions on recreational uses of the site unless they threaten the peace and quiet and fabric of the area.
3 We are sceptical about the current orthodoxies in conservation thinking which impose top-down management solutions
4 We consider that the greening of the previous grouse moor heathland since 1933 has been largely beneficial to the landscape and visual interest of the site.
5 We resent the prescriptive scenario which wants to control every facet of the vegetation in the name of conservation
6 We value the absence of farm management approaches with livestock to ‘manage’ the habitat
7 Much though we appreciate the wildlife in the area we feel that it is not the only measure of its value.
8 We believe it is beneficial to approach the maintenance of Blacka’s paths and vegetation through hands on tasks tackled by a dedicated site worker in collaboration with volunteers.