5 minute read

We head down to Allet bog with Upstream Thinking ecologist, Liz Cox, for a squelchy walk to discuss peat, peatlands and why we should all go peat-free.

You can listen to the full conversation on The Wild Cornwall Podcast.

What on earth do you do every day, Liz?

I've been working for Cornwall Wildlife Trust for 17 years now. The Upstream Thinking project is essentially a farm advisory project where we go out and talk to farmers about managing their habitats and their land and their soils for wildlife… and also to keep the rivers and streams clean.

So why are we hanging out in a bog?!

These wetlands are incredibly important because they can store and hold on to lots of water. So, they're really important for regulating floods and droughts… They're culturally quite important as well, because these kind of waterlogged conditions can hold on to historic artefacts and evidence from 1000s of years ago.

One of the really important things is they're just so important from a carbon storage point of view.

Carbon storage? Tell me more…

Well, the peat is formed in waterlogged conditions. As the plants decompose, the carbon that would normally be released into the atmosphere is trapped within the peatlands soil itself.

So these habitats can hold on to that for millennia, particularly if they're undisturbed.

So it's amazing to think that peatlands only cover 3% of the world's surface, but they hold an incredible 30% of the whole world’s soil carbon. In the UK, that equates to three times as much as all our woodlands put together.

So these are truly spectacular sites for wildlife, but they're also incredibly important from a climate change point of view.

What happens if they get damaged… or cut for compost?

One of the key things to note is that when peatlands become degraded or damaged – so, if they're cut for fuel or compost for gardening – then they become sources of carbon … so the greenhouse gas emissions from those are actually quite big.

So it's really important that we protect our peatlands and restore those that are damaged.

Healthy peatlands absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and they can store that carbon indefinitely as long as they remain undisturbed. Most importantly, they can hold on to it – keep absorbing it – for millennia.

But when they're disturbed, so either drained (for example, for agriculture) or damaged (for example, for producing compost) then they lose the waterlogged conditions necessary to form peat and can no longer absorb and store that carbon.

Actually now damage peatlands are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, estimated to account for about 5% of UK total carbon emissions.

Wait up there! Did you say 5% of carbon emissions? That’s huge!

Yeah, it's absolutely massive. So that's why it's so important that we look after the peatlands we've got.’

Ok, so this is important: what’s being done about it?

Fortunately, the government is finally recognising the importance of protecting our peatlands and how key restoring those we have got is in our fight against climate change, and they've now pledged £50 million towards peatland restoration.

And also they're planning to ban the sale of peat and peat products by 2024, which is fantastic… but that's still two years away. The Wildlife Trusts have estimated that if we carry on with the use of peat garden products we're using in those two years that's another 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide that will be released. So we’re calling for an immediate ban on the sale of all peat products.

And what are we doing in Cornwall?

It’s really exciting… we've done some peatland restoration of our own. At one of our nature reserves on Bodmin Moor, Priddacombe Downs, we've restored about 90 hectares of peatland. And what I mean by restoration is reinstating those wet, waterlogged conditions: so blocking old ditches so that the conditions of light again for peat to be able to start forming again.

And then really excitingly, at one of the farms I've been working on down in West Penwith, we’ll be starting rewetting and other 12 hectares down there on Wednesday next week. So I'm super excited about that.

It sounds like you’re quite hopeful, Liz?

Yes! I think there's loads of things that can be done; I think it's just really important to get people out and to experience these really special places. And I think so many people have no idea that places like this exist and the huge function these places have for us, not just from a well-being point of view, but for our health… and the health of our nature and wildlife

So yes, I do feel hopeful about that, I just think we need to get the message out there.

Do you need to be an ecologist to make a difference?

I think the key thing is… go peat-free!

If you’re buying compost, it's not always clear… you'll see bags that are labelled with lovely happy wildlife pictures on it, but some of those will still have peat in them! Or they'll say sustainable peat… But there's really no such thing: it's almost like kind of a fossil fuel, taking 1,000 years to form one metre, and if you think how much you get in one of those massive bags, then that's quite a rapid depletion of something that takes a very long time to form!

So I think if you go to your garden centre, ask for peat-free… and make it known that you really do want to buy people because that kind of customer interest and demand is what's going to make this happen sooner.

Hold on… there’s no such thing as sustainable peat?!

There is no such thing… So can take up our pledge to go peat-free on our website and our site will also give you some more information about how to go peat-free and other wildlife gardening tips.

So, would you encourage people to come to places like this?

Absolutely. I think you really hit the nail on the head. Actually, people don't know these fantastic places exist. So come out and experience it for yourself, get the sights and the sounds and the smells and see all the wildlife around because I really think there's just nothing better for you than to be fully immersed in that wildlife all around you.

Thanks for chatting, Liz!