The Peatland Restoration Roadshow is set to “demystify” and spark fresh discussions surrounding the benefits of peatland restoration for land managers and local communities.
The events will take place across Scotland between March 6 and 23, 2023, and will be hosted by Scotland’s only independent specialist peatland consultant – Caledonian Climate Partnership (CCP).
The roadshow, which is sponsored by NatureScot and PeatlandACTION, will also focus on the co-benefits for land management and local communities, including water quality and deer management, and grants and funding available for a peatland restoration project.
Managing director of CCP, Freddie Ingleby, said: “In Scotland, almost 80% of our peatland is degraded, and, in this state, it is the fifth biggest emitter of carbon in the country.
“However, properly managed it becomes the greatest carbon store, which is probably one of the biggest natural opportunities we have here to turn the tide on the climate crisis.
“The good news is that restoring peatland can be delivered at speed and scale with almost immediate environmental benefits, accompanied by economic and social benefits, but we need to be restoring more quickly than we currently are.”
Roadshow
The events within the roadshow are free to attend and are open to all, CCP said. They will all be held from 5.30pm-8.00pm and include refreshments, a Q&A and time to talk informally at the end.
The list of event locations, dates and guests:
- March 6, 2023 – Buccleuch & Queensberrry Arms Hotel, Thornhill
Freddie Ingleby, managing director of CCP
Barry Dunne, Peatland Action Project manager;
- March 7, 2023 – White Church, Comrie
Freddie Ingleby
Peter Hutchinson, Peatland Action Programme manager
Dr. Linzi Seivwright, founder and director of Caorann;
- March 16, 2023 – Bonar Bridge
Freddie Ingleby
Stephen Varwell MRICS | Peatland ACTION – planning and communications manager
Tom Chetwynd MRICS | Chetwynd rural;
- March 23, 2023 – Village Hall, Fort Augustus
Freddie Ingleby
Becky Shaw, PeatlandACTION workforce planning and development manager
Dr. Melanie Smith, research director at Atlantic Salmon Trust.
Biodiversity
The roadshow is aimed at people of all ages, Ingleby said, who have an interest in land management and nature restoration, including farmers, keepers, talkers, estate managers and advisors, as well as the local community.
“We wanted to give everyone in different parts of Scotland an opportunity to learn first-hand about the unique biodiversity of peatlands and their role in mitigating climate change, to meet restoration experts and think differently about how they can be improving landscapes, biodiversity and managing this asset to its best advantage,” he said.
Peatland restoration enables biodiversity and wildlife to thrive, CCP said, as they are capable of storing an average of 10 times more carbon/ha than any other land habitat.
This enables golden plover and water voles to rise significantly and water is better managed to mitigate flooding.
CCP said peatland restoration provides widespread natural capital, from providing sustainable local jobs to social well-being for local communities, and more robust and biodiverse landscapes rich with wildlife.
Healthy peatlands, it said, can also carefully managed to provide additional financial returns, such as low-intensity sheep grazing and, through the Peatland Code, accessing natural capital markets.
“It can be daunting knowing why and how to undertake these projects, and we’d really like people of all ages from across roles and responsibilities in land management and the local community to come along to find out more about the challenges and opportunities of peatland restoration in Scotland,” Ingleby said.
