Over 48 representatives from across the peatland community in the UK as well as MPs and Peers attended a parliamentary reception in Westminster celebrating the importance celebrate of upland peatland catchments - recognising their intrinsic value and the public benefits they provide.  The event focussed on sharing the following key messages:

At Butterfly Conservation we understand the great value of healthy functioning peatlands for biodiversity. While much of the focus is on the specialised plants found on peat bogs, there are a number of butterflies and moths which are associated with bogs too. Some of them are there because their caterpillar foodplants only grow on bogs; the caterpillars of the Large Heath butterfly Coenonympha tullia, for example, feed almost exclusively on Hare’s-tail Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum).

The long-awaited report on inclusion of peatlands in the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory has now been published by the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The work, which was led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the James Hutton Institute, has produced revised estimates of peat extent and condition, and new UK-specific emission factors for a range of management and land-use activities on peat.

The summer heatwave of 2018 was accompanied by wildfires across the UK with a major incident declared at Saddleworth Moor in the Peak District where homes in nearby villages had to be evacuated.  The wildfire problem has hit the headlines again with record breaking Spring temperatures accompanied by several serious outbreaks including peatland at the National Trust’s Marsden Moor. The threat to human lives, disruption to travel as well as the huge financial costs in tackling the fires and dealing with the damaging consequences deserves urgent national attention.

Bog restoration works are expected to benefit local water quality and nature, as well as contribute to meeting our climate change targets. Members of the Ugie Peatland Partnership (UPP), who aim to restore 1,500 hectares of peatland within the River Ugie catchment, were delighted to see the recent completion of peat bog restoration works on Moss of Kinmundy.