October: News Roundup
We’re now into the third month of our 23/24 restoration season and well underway with some challenging and ambitious restoration sites. The weather is changing and contractors are out on site most days tackling the eroding and degrading peatlands of the UK’s South West.
Chloe Hurst, SWPP Project Assistant takes a look at some recent events and key moments for SWPP and some exciting local headlines on environmental issues in October.
Beyond Restoration: IUCN Peatland Programme Conference 2023
Every year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) hosts a Peatland Programme Conference, where peat practitioners, policy makers, scientists, land managers and anyone else from the peatland community can come together, share knowledge, research and enthusiasm of peatland conservation and management.
This year’s theme was ‘Beyond Restoration’ with a focus on the future of peatlands, a reflection on how far we have come and new, innovative methods and technology now available to help protect these vital landscapes.
Martin, SWPP Historic Environment Officer, speaking on all things archaeology and preserving the past, Ely
Over 3 days, we had a range of talks spanning a variety of topics including updates from all 4 UK nations, peat and carbon, restoration trajectories, cultural heritage, paludiculture and much more. It was interesting to hear international perspectives from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and invited speakers from Malaysia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Additionally, one of the days involved a field trip and we were able to pick either a trip to WWT Welney (and Denver Sluice and Fenland SOIL Farm Visit), Wicken Fen, the Great Fen Project (Holme Posts, Rothschild Bungalow and paludiculture trials with the Wildlife Trust) or Flag Fen Archaeology Park (and Nene Washes). For me, visiting a lowland fen farm was a first. I am not used to seeing peat being used in that way and for there to be lettuces growing in it! The farm we visited supplies 80% of the country’s celery and 65% of the country’s lettuce – it was vast, but hearing about how they are trying to sustainably manage their peat soils, water, biodiversity and emissions whilst juggling to meet these demands, was promising. Like many of our landscapes, the fens have been modified and intensively managed for centuries. I found it quite overwhelming but very insightful.
Part of one of SWPP’s posters presented at the conference on the topic of woollen bund trials on Dartmoor
One evening, we had a poster presentation. The SWPP produced 4 posters;
- Trialling a range of restoration intervention methods on NW Dartmoor, including the use of local wool to inhibit peat erosion, slow the flow of water and to help stabilise shallow, peat soils.
- Using stories, sound and imagery to explore the past, present and future of peatlands across the southwest
- Peatland restoration and the historic environment: an integrated approach to archaeology-rich landscapes
- Peatland restoration and palaeoecology: studying a prehistoric valley mire at Alderman’s Barrow Allotment, Exmoor.
The takeaway message: a lot has been achieved within the peatland community but there is still a lot to be done! Peatlands need our help and we must continue raising their profile and importance.
Keep an eye on our website to read more about our poster topics. You can also be part of the conference and catch up via Youtube: Peatland Cinema- Ely 'Beyond Restoration' 2023 #PeatConf23 - YouTube
Out and about on Tavy Head
Work has begun on our most remote and largest site so far – Tavy Head on Dartmoor. The site comprises 240ha of blanket bog and takes around 1.5 hours for our team and contractors to trek there and back each day! Tin streaming, burning, military activity and over-grazing has resulted in the formation of complex gulley systems, extensive areas of dendritic erosion and hydrological ‘cliff-edges’ at the head of the tin-streamed valleys. Most of the site is dominated by purple moor-grass (Molinia caeruelea), with low presence of Sphagnum or other bog species indicative of a high-water table and active peat formation.
We hope that by blocking these erosion features with peat, wood and stone and by reprofiling exposed edges and hags, we can slow the flow, raise and stabilise the water table to aid hydrological restoration and the return to a functioning peatland with benefits for people, wildlife and the climate.
Read more about works taking place at Tavy Head this winter and into next spring at this link here.
Contactors and machinery heading out to Tavy Head in October, where the diggers will remain until March 2024, working throughout the winter to raise and stabilise the local water table.
Peat blocks constructed in our first week at Tavy Head, with an instant effect on raising the water table
Some other headlines from partners working in local areas:
The Duchy of Cornwall commences essential work on Wistman’s Wood expansion and regeneration.
After 2 years of planning, Moor Trees collected acorns from Wistman’s Wood this month, a rare, ancient woodland on Dartmoor, after a special license was issued by Natural England.
The aim of the plan is to double the size of the wood by the early 2040s, this being the initial step. The acorns will stay at a nursery in Dartington to germinate for 2 years, before being brought back to the site and planted on the periphery of the woodland and the valley opposite. Hopefully, the wood’s resilience (a measure of how quickly an ecosystem can restore itself following disturbance, such as fire or disease) will improve, in turn, helping to protect the genetic diversity and very rare Atlantic mosses and lichens.
Read more at this link here: BBC News
‘Significant’ plan for Dartmoor and US national parks to collaborate
Dartmoor National Park Authority said ‘Dartmoor is set to become the official Sister Park of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a 33,000-acre protected landscape.’
The partnership agreement will help each protected landscape share knowledge and expertise on key issues such as conservation, tackling climate change and sustainable tourism. Areas identified for collaboration include outreach and engagement work, agri-environment, conservation management, volunteer programmes and access to different funding streams.
Read more at this link here: Teignmouth Post & Gazette