One requirement for LIFE nature projects is to share experience and knowledge and many include a requirement to host a mid-project event. Cumbria BogLIFE held a mid-project conference during the first week of October and based it around ‘Restoring Peatlands – The Development of Best Practice Techniques’. The main aim of the conference was clear from the very start; to demonstrate many of the practical peatland restoration techniques that had been developed over the last 30 years both in Cumbria and throughout the UK and Europe. It proved that there was a clear appetite for such a ‘catch-up’ within the peatland world as the conference booked up fully within weeks.
Over three days, around 120 delegates were offered a stimulating mix of formal presentations, interactive workshops, site visits, a BogLIFE cake and even a sit-down formal meal!
Rob Stoneman (Yorkshire Wildlife Trust), Richard Lindsay (University of East London) and Chris Dean (Moors for the Future) were invited to open each day with their views of how far we have come with peatland restoration within the UK, the challenges that still face us not just on a UK scale but on a global scale and Moors for the Future celebrated just what successes we can all strive to achieve.
The conference started off with speakers showcasing restoration work from some of the most innovative projects in the UK. Cumbria BogLIFE presented the challenges associated with establishing peat forming vegetation on former milled bog at Bolton Fell Moss and how landscape scale rhododendron and tree cover has been removed successfully at Roudsea Mosses.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Natural England presented landscape scale restoration peatland projects on Foulshaw Moss and Fenns and Whixall Mosses respectively, and the Humberhead Peatland LIFE Project showed how many years of work have achieved real differences on the most extensive body of damaged peatland in England. Natural Resource Wales described the uniqueness of their raised bogs sites and alluded to the real issues facing many peatland managers in the future – funding.
From Scotland, Forest Research (Scotland) presented work they have been carrying out on afforested sites to assess the suitability and success of cell-bunding and Scottish Natural Heritage gave an overview of their recent works within the Peatland ACTION Fund.
It is not often that peatland professionals get the opportunity to experience projects outside the UK so it was with great pleasure to present a platform for speakers heading up large-scale restoration projects within the Baltic regions, Sweden and on the largest raised bog in western European lowlands located in Denmark.
The conference clearly identified that there is significant uncertainty towards securing future funding for our peatlands. Many discussions evolved around the emphasis on gathering robust monitoring data that can really help towards demonstrate our successes and underpinning the case for future funding. Bringing people with us, supporting and appreciating peatlands and our work was also seen as paramount and we all can play a part in public engagement. There was particularly great interest from delegates with new attitudes to gaining funding, including the IUCN Peatland Code and the Natural Capital and ecosystem services approaches.
Look out for the similar events over the next few years as Cumbria BogLIFE, Humberhead Peatlands and the new LIFE projects; Marches Mosses LIFE and MoorLIFE 2020 disseminate their experience, knowledge and strengthen our peatland networks. Watch this space...
John Dunbavin
Cumbria BogLIFE Project Manager
And there was cake! Seemingly the most popular tweet of #BogLifeConf...
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