People are often surprised when you mention the words ‘restoring peat’ to them. There is almost a dis-association that it can exist in lowland habitat conditions around Dorset. But there are in fact many examples of fen, mire and bog communities exhibited across the Dorset heaths which the discovery grant, funded by the Nature for Peatland Grant Scheme, is enabling the Dorset Peat Partnership (DPP) to investigate.

With a number of milestone targets to achieve by March 2023, engagement is a key ingredient for raising the profile of peat in Dorset. Over the past four months the Dorset Peat Partnership has held several public events, as well as training and monitoring events with volunteers, workshop events with land managers, and even conversations on the factory floor of a fabrication unit in Poole.

The Planet Purbeck Festival launch event, which was held on Wareham Quay in September, was the first undertaking of a full public facing engagement for this project. Equipped with two hydrological catchment model tables, loaned by Forestry England, the interactive water tables could demonstrate how water can be soaked up in the upstream spongey bogs, reducing flooding downstream. The DPP was fortunate to have Dr Sarah Elliott, a Paleoecologist from Bournemouth University, partner up at the event to discuss her latest research findings of peat depths at sites in Dorset, and this formulated the Peaty Pockets of Purbeck Walk which was hosted between Dorset Wildlife Trust, Urbans Heath Partnership and Bournemouth University.  

Fortunately, the resourcing of volunteers was made easier thanks to the support of Susanna Holford, Dorset Wildlife Trust’s volunteer administrator who sent out multiple requests from her wealth of contacts and volunteer lists. This enabled the baseline ecological vegetation surveying of plant communities on our potential peatland restoration sites to get underway, even in the un-forgiving heat of this summer! But the hard work didn’t stop there as we’ve soldiered on into autumn despite the heavy rain, which isn’t easy in knee high Molinia tussocks. The project has now attracted volunteers from Bournemouth University, BCP Council, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Natural England Wessex team, Forestry England, and National Trust. In addition, we have engaged with the land managers across the partnership and got them involved with the installation of dip wells for longer term hydrological monitoring across selected sites.

The land managers within the partnership are also key to the next phases of the project. With the support of Natalie Poulter from the Dorset Catchment Partnership, a workshop event was held in October at RSPB Arne to discuss what information they can provide to the project with respect to future restoration plans and information.  

Lastly, it’s those small, unexpected conversations that can have just as much of an impact on raising awareness of the importance of peat. After growing tired of using the tangled 2x2m string, I decided to get a bespoke quadrat fabricated for vegetation surveys. It was here on the factory floor that we were able to discuss the existence and state of peat in Dorset – which was a real surprise to the factory worker who was a Dorset Wildlife Trust supporter.

Find out more about the Dorset Peat Partnership. 

Find out more about volunteering at Dorset Wildlife Trust.