This was a major research project, carried out by 17 partner organisations and coordinated by PLACE. A pilot study of the Vale of Pickering, financed by the former Countryside Commission, was undertaken in 1997-98.  The project focused on the restoration and conservation of wetlands in the Vale.  Phase 2 took place in 1998-99 and was financed by the Environment Agency, North Yorkshire County Council and Ryedale District Council.  Two reports have resulted from the project and one book, copies of which are available from PLACE.

Fen woodland survives in a very few places in the Vale today but was common in the early postglacial period