THE head of the Lake District National Park Authority, Richard Leafe, visited Forest Hall Farm in the Shap Fells to learn more about a new technique to restore peatlands in the uplands.
The innovative approach has been developed to improve water quality and prevent carbon loss.
It was created by Penrith business Barker and Bland, who worked with Cumbria Wildlife Trust to restore the damaged peat at Forest Hall.
Funded by Environment Agency’s Catchment Restoration Fund, the restoration has seen 80 kilometres of eroded peat faces repaired over two years using specially designed diggers.
Eroded peat hags have been re-profiled and re-laid with turf to prevent further loss of peat.
This is good for wildlife on the bog but also helps prevent water pollution downstream.
By restoring the bog, the main peat-forming species Sphagnum moss will grow and keep the bog wet so that the peat does not dry up in hot summers, preventing further erosion.
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