Conference 2024: Day 3 programme

Photo credit: Pete Quinn

Conference 2024: Day 3 programme

Thursday 19th September: topic deep dives (recorded for the Peatland Programme YouTube channel)

 

8.45am      Refreshments 

9.20am     Updates from the IUCN UK Peatland Programme (Auditorium) 

Join IUCN UK Peatland Programme Director Emma Hinchliffe for an update on the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, our recent work and future plans. Find out how you can contribute to our collective vision as we invite the peatland community to inform our ongoing strategy and collaborative work.

 

Deep dive workshops and knowledge sharing sessions from 10am – 12pm and 1pm – 3pm in the Auditorium, Osprey Arena, Peregrine 1, Peregrine 2 and Strathspey.  

‘Assessing bog health’ and ‘Posing peatland questions’ are full day workshops involving a field visit. 

 

Delegates to choose ONE full day session  

OR  

one AM AND one PM session. 

 

FULL DAY WORKSHOPS

 

Assessing bog health using a simple condition matrix - FULLY BOOKED

Please note: this workshop covers both the AM and PM workshop slots and will involve a short classroom session followed by training in the field.  

Collect a packed lunch from the conference foyer from 8am. 

When planning peatland restoration and assessing trajectories of change post-restoration, accurate assessment of habitat condition is of critical importance. Join the IUCN UK Peatland Programme’s Senior Research Advisor Richard Lindsay for a practical workshop exploring a matrix-based approach to bog condition assessment based on microtopography and associated vegetation communities. Richard will introduce the methodology and how to identify assessment units remotely in a classroom session, followed by the opportunity to test the matrix in the field on a blanket bog at Abernethy National Nature Reserve.  

The field visit will involve walking ~4km over uneven ground. Please bring appropriate footwear for wet conditions. There are no toilets on site.  

Schedule 

8am                            Collect packed lunch from conference foyer 

8.15am – 9.15am    Classroom session in the Strathspey suite 

9.30am – 10.30am  Travel to Abernethy field site 

10.30am – 2pm       Field based training including packed lunch 

2pm – 3pm               Return to conference venue 

 

Our future is peat 

Please note: this workshop will cover both the AM and PM workshop slots and will be mostly field-based. 

Collect a packed lunch from the conference foyer from 8am. Please bring your own hand lens and sketching materials if possible. 

In this creative workshop, interdisciplinary artist Caroline Vitzthum and members of the youth-led collective RE-PEAT invite delegates to answer peatland questions received from children across the UK. The first part of the day will be spent at Ruthven Barracks, where Orla Craig and Tom Gardner from Historic Environment Scotland will explore historical relationships and perceptions of peatlands. Participants will then travel to RSPB Insh Marshes Nature Reserve, to consider a particular question and engage creatively with the environment to capture notes, drawings, sounds, and collective discoveries. Letters will be composed in response to the children’s questions, to be shared with them and collated into a published collection of work.

To find out more about Caroline’s work, visit https://carolinevitzthumstudio.com/.

To find out more about RE-PEAT’s work, visit https://www.re-peat.earth/.

Transport will be provided from the coach car park. Please ensure you arrive in plenty of time to depart at 10am.

Schedule

10am – 10.30am                  Travel to Ruthven Barracks

10.30am – 11.30am            Explorations of historical relationships

11.30am – 11.40am            Travel to Insh Marshes

11.40am – 12.30pm            Exploration of site through creative activities

12.30pm – 1pm                    Lunch

1.30pm – 2.30pm                Letter writing

2.30pm – 3pm                      Return to conference venue

 

AM WORKSHOPS: 10am – 12pm 

 

Working together at landscape scale on lowland peat 

Location: Peregrine 1  

In this interactive workshop, participants will consider how to work together across organisations to deliver environmental outcomes on lowland peat. Case study presentations from successful lowland peat projects will set the scene, and groups will draw on real-world examples to consider risks, benefits and potential financing options for landscape scale peat projects.   

Chaired by Jordan Champ and Sam Joyce, Defra 

Speakers: 

Megan Hudson, Fenland SOIL 

Peter Jones, Natural Resources Wales 

 

Translational palaeoecology and the art of collaboration: understanding the past for resilient futures 

Location: Peregrine 2 

Translational palaeoecology offers a collaborative approach to practice-focused research.  This workshop will explore this concept to demonstrate how palaeoecology – the ecology of past environments – can be transformed from interesting to actionable.  Using restoration scenarios, the workshop will guide participants through a process of translational palaeoecology and demonstrate how an understanding of the past can inform practical management and restoration of peatlands. 

Chaired by Jessica Gauld, University of Manchester 

Speakers: Morag Angus (SWPP)

 

Digital MRVs for Peatland Code and other projects 

Location: Auditorium 

In this knowledge sharing session we will explore the emerging digital tools for Monitoring and Verification of Peatland Code and other peatland projects. Digital technologies present a significant opportunity to improve the efficiency and costs of monitoring and reporting on peatland condition and associated environmental variables, but with the scale and pace of technological development, it can be challenging to understand what is reliable and applicable for peatland projects. This session will introduce a range of organisations and individuals developing and testing these technologies and ask: what can currently be achieved using digital approaches, and where is further development and testing required? 

Chaired by Miles Wilson, North Pennines National Landscape 

Speakers: 

Renée Kerkvliet-Hermans, IUCN UK Peatland Programme 

Anne Williams, AI4Peat 

David Large, University of Nottingham 

Roxane Andersen, University of the Highlands and Islands 

Mark Currass, SEAD Artists 

Pontus Nordin and Carlos Alvarado, Sylvera 

Marjolein Helder, Plant e 

Olga Tutubalina, Gentian 

 

Diving the depths: the need for a unified UK-wide approach to peat depth

Location: Strathspey suite 

Peat depth as a defining feature for ‘deep peat’ habitats in the UK is a hangover from the post-war period when the main driver was to understand the landscape in terms of the ability to increase productivity. However, this has resulted in a definition that creates an overly simplistic approach, delineating peatland habitats by depth rather than viewing them holistically as a functional mosaic. This session will discuss the need for a unified UK-wide approach to peat depth in policy contexts, legislative/regulator contexts with supporting case studies, practitioner needs along with the technical background as to why there is a need for a different approach to defining the UK’s peatlands. 

Chaired by Dave Stone, JNCC 

Speakers: 

Mark Owen, Natural England 

Andrew Midgley, RSPB 

Richard Lindsay, University of East London (pre-record) 

Emily Taylor,  Crichton Carbon Centre 

Alistair Lockett, North Pennines National Landscape

 

Bringing back nature: biodiversity monitoring for a greener future  

Location: Osprey Arena 

Peatlands are extremely important for biodiversity, and the restoration, protection and sustainable management of these unique habitats is essential to meet our legally binding targets for nature recovery. This knowledge sharing session will outline the policy context behind existing biodiversity strategies and how peatland projects can provide the data needed to evidence progress in delivery. We will focus on the current state of play of biodiversity monitoring and the potential for technology to support us in understanding and reporting on peatland biodiversity. 

Chaired by Iain Diack, Natural England 

Speakers 

Joey Pickard and Mike Shewring, Lost Peatlands Project 

Joe Anderson, IUCN UK Peatland Programme 

Calum Brown, Highlands Rewilding Ltd. 

Max Bodmer, rePLANET 

 

12pm – 1pm         Lunch 

 

PM WORKSHOPS: 1pm – 3pm 

 

Native trees, peat and dynamic landscapes - FULLY BOOKED

Location: Peregrine 1

This workshop aims to broaden perceptions of the relationships between native trees and peatlands in the context of landscape-scale restoration, following on from the National Trust hosted webinar ‘Trees and Peat – Interactions in Ecosystem Recovery’ webinar earlier this year. Hear inspiration from Kate Hanley, RSPB Site Manager, who will share the innovative approach being taken at RSPB Dovestones. Delegates are then invited to discuss and prioritise key themes identified during the webinar and presentation and address challenges and opportunities in relation to restoration of natural processes. Input from this session will be used to inform a joint publication on the topic, developed by the National Trust and IUCN UK Peatland Programme. Prior attendance at the webinar is not a requirement and you can catch up on all the talks on the IUCN UK Peatland Programme YouTube channel.

Chaired by Caroline Thorogood, National Trust

 

Developing a skilled restoration workforce: training and capacity building

Location: Peregrine 2

Accelerating the pace and scale at which peatland is being restored across the UK depends upon having a suitably skilled and knowledgeable workforce to survey, plan, deliver, manage and monitor projects. Increasingly, these skills also require a fluency in blending public and private finance. This workshop will focus on the challenges of developing a skilled workforce capable of meeting ambitious targets and focus on positive action being taken across the UK to address skills and capacity gaps. We will consider the effectiveness of particular skills and workforce interventions; identify where the challenges are with these approaches; explore the potential for collaborative action and consider ‘what’s next’ in the development of the peatland skills supply chain.

Chaired by Becky Shaw, NatureScot Peatland ACTION 

Speakers 

Emily Taylor, Crichton Carbon Centre 

Rachel Urquhart, Albamontane

With an intervention provided by Emma Stewart, Cairngorms National Park Authority 

 

Restoration standards and guidance: driving innovation and improving restoration methods 

Location: Auditorium 

In this Peatland ACTION-led workshop, Technical Advice Manager Ian McKee will introduce the concept of the Scottish Peatland Standard along with further guidance including the “Principles of restoration” and a suite of decision trees. These resources, along with the Technical Compendium will be regularly updated, incorporating feedback from practitioners. The introduction of the Peatland Standard will drive innovation and improvements to restoration methods in Scotland, in terms of their effectiveness and value for money, and help improve consistency. Presenting a series of case studies from forest to bog restoration practitioners, this knowledge-sharing session will demonstrate the value of applying evidence-led restoration principles.  

Chaired by Ian McKee, NatureScot Peatland ACTION 

Speakers: 

Ian McKee, NatureScot Peatland ACTION 

Tim Cockerill, Forestry and Land Scotland 

Peter Greening, Duncan Wemyss Ltd.

 

Are we on the right track? Linear developments on peatlands 

Location: Strathspey suite 

This session will focus on linear developments: threats, scale, type (permanent and temporary) and associated regulations. Tracks and roads are a hidden and growing issue for peatlands, with research demonstrating impacts including chemical deposition, compaction, alteration of physical properties and divergence of vegetation communities from control areas. We will present research findings on the type, scale and impacts of linear developments, and discuss how best to mitigate them. We’ll also consider the interplay between policy and practice, how this varies across the UK, and how to achieve greater oversight and joined-up thinking on this issue.  

Chaired by David Large, University of Nottingham 

Speakers 

Jessica Fìor-Berry, IUCN UK Peatland Programme 

Guaduneth Chico, National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) 

Arwel Williams, Welsh Government 

Andy Mills, OWC

Mike Shewring, RSPB 

 

Delivering community benefits from peatland projects

Location: Osprey Arena

This session will focus on community benefit sharing from Peatland Code and other projects. The main topics that will be discussed are:

  • How do we define a community? Communities in the UK are organised in different ways and this has changed over time, creating challenges for benefit sharing.
  • How do we manage challenges around sharing revenue and the potential mismatch between expectations and reality?
  • How do we quantify non-financial benefits and how can these be shared?
  • How do we develop clear guidance on ensuring parity in these types of projects?

​​​​​​Chaired by Renée Kerkvliet-Hermans, IUCN UK Peatland Programme

Speakers

Uwe Stoneman, Land Commission

Rachel Nixseaman, Deciding Matters

Kenna Chisholm, Flow Country Partnership

Matthew Hannon, University of Strathclyde

 

3pm - 3.30pm           Refreshments 

 

 

3.30pm – 4.30pm     Responding to the challenge plenary session (Auditorium)

A forward-looking panel discussion with members of our UK partnership who collectively own and deliver against the UK Peatland Strategy. We will reflect on the preceding three days of discussion, take home messages from the conference and the panel’s thoughts on how to respond to the challenge of the UK Peatland Strategy and the 2024 Progress Report.

Chaired by Stuart Brooks, IUCN UK Peatland Programme Co-Chair

 

4.30pm – 6pm         Conference close and pack down 

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