In May, Peatscapes had the pleasure to facilitate a field visit for peatland restoration experts from Estonia to the Little Woolden Moss west of Manchester city, UK. Little Woolden Moss is a fragment of Chat Moss, an expansive lowland raised bog, which has almost entirely been destroyed for agriculture and peat extraction since the 19th century. The Estonian delegation included three organisations - Estonian Fund for Nature, University of Tartu, and State Forest Management Centre (RMK). We were kindly hosted by Mike Longden and his colleagues from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, who are leading the restoration of this peatland.

Restoration on Little Woolden Moss has been ongoing since 2013, after horticultural peat extraction ceased, and since 2018 in other parts of the moss. Our hosts shared the challenges they have encountered in re-establishing a functioning peatland ecosystem on bare peat and the lessons learned in this painstaking process. Experts from both sides got to discuss and share knowledge relating to peatland restoration such as technical solutions, emissions and biodiversity monitoring, and funding and community engagement.

Thank you again to Lancashire Wildlife Trust for hosting us!