Rachael introduces Peat-Fest South-West

Wet, cold and squelchy. A relief for my clammy hands on a hot day at the Heath. The sundews sparkle in the light as I cool down crouched next to the bog.

Thinking about the wind whistling through the pipes along the bridge at Crowdy, the marsh stretching out into the horizon. Winding hills in Exmoor up to the peat bogs speckled with cotton grass. Folk tales crawling up from the granite of Dartmoor.

“Theres peat in the South West?” another asks as I share excitedly about what’s happening in the murky bogs this year. 

South West Peat Fest is a celebration of our peatland, lost, surviving and yet to be restored. With our wonderful partners at ART and ENERGY, RE-PEAT are leading on the Youth Engagement across the festival. As someone who grew up in the South West the excitement of being able to take young people onto land that I love so dearly, and learn together about sphagnum burrowing into the wet, is palpable. 

Often when folks think of the South West they think of holiday cottages and sandy beaches. But the tourist industry hides the brunt end of poverty many in the South West face. Due to high concentrations of inaccessible land some children in the country go outside less than in major cities where access to local parks is on their doorsteps. South West Peat Fest is a chance for young folk who aren’t currently engaged in outdoor peat activities to meet peat at free events, get excited and create lasting connections with local restoration work.

Across our five locations; Dorset, Exmoor, Dartmoor, Bodmin and Somerset; our fantastic delivery partners are taking us to land they steward and then we will engage in creative workshops to connect with peat in new ways.

Naomi reflects on the Peat-Fest South-West launch event on Bog Day

On Bog Day (27th July 2025) we told stories of moss and peat filled landscapes to launch Peat-Fest South-West. On that very special day, on the edge of Bodmin Moor, locals, peatland specialists, dancers, scientists and artists and many more people of all ages came together to celebrate the beginning of a festival of events that will celebrate more about the Southwest regional peatland landscapes, particularly with young people.

We based ourselves at STERTS Arts and Environmental Centre for the day - a hub for the environmental arts in a part of Cornwall between Launceston, Liskeard and Bodmin.

We first toured the Festival in photographs with the help from peatland restorers and RE-PEAT - wet fens to boggy valleys, moorland and pocket peatland mires. Such a fantastic range of South-West peatlands that need our love and support. 

Far Flung dancers performed The Mossy Story written by Micha Columbo. A beautiful poetic collaborative piece that has Jay and his gran meet Tina the Tardigrade, the Carbon Giant and Moss. Everyone realises the sum of all their small actions makes a big difference to their world. 

The Virtual Peatlands Pavilion was present for all to explore with the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and the use of VR headset technology. The virtual pavilion is where we will be storing all the digital elements that come from this festival for future use. 

We walked a route in search of bogs around Minions (the highest village in Cornwall about a mile from STERTS Environmental Arts Centre). We found evidence of human habitation going back 6000 years, we found industrial remains, mines, buildings, railway lines. The whole village built on the copper mining exploits from 200 years ago. There was a murmer among the group that the industrial buildings also housed dragons. 

And then we found bogs beginning to form in dips and hollows of this landscape - what is a bog? we asked. It is wet and watery they answered. Low in nutrients and full of degraded plant matter, especially bog moss, I said. Where is the sphagnum peat forming moss?. How can we tell a bog is healthy? We had additional expertise from Rachael Land, South West Peatland Partnership and Pete Davies, peatland ranger from the National Trust in Dartmoor, as well as a Cornish Bryologist Matt Stribley. It turns out that a healthy peat bog needs to remain wet and damp and be constantly growing. The first two ‘bogs’ were not that.

A very low percentage of peat based landscape is healthy and this short walk made us consider that. Peat is so significant in holding carbon (the carbon giant) underground, spreading resilience to climate change, acting as a flood reduction sponge and a filter for our drinking water. 

By the end of the walk we had found some truly boggy land, full of sphagnum , it wobbled under foot, it had sundew, it had a chance as long as the water table didn’t get too low. 

Back at the STERTS centre we found mossy carpet, a healthy and an unwell bog in containers to explore and bog moss activities still on, alongside a silent disco of RE-PEAT’s Moss Pit - an audio bog poetry. Another showing of The Mossy Story and more tea and cake. 

What a great way to complete the launch of Peat-Fest South-West. All of us holding on to the hope and love that we have for peatlands and their role in burying the Carbon giant, and giving us the inspiration that every small moss like action helps to make our future better.

Thanks to all the delivery teams, the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and RE-PEAT for coming along to start the Peat-Fest in a friendly and gentle way. If you are interested in getting involved, attending a workshop, lending a hand for peat, please get in touch with hello[@]artandenergy.org! 

Also thanks go to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and lottery players for supporting this event.