The PEAT+ Project Team at Project Launch Event
For PEAT+ Sake
In this our first PEAT+ Project newsletter we update on how we are working to preserve and engage with our 22 priority peatlands restoration sites through restoration, learning and community action
Restoring peatlands, reviving nature and building communities
We’re now in the second year of the PEAT+ Project, and activity is gathering pace on the ground. Restoration work is under way, teams are monitoring and surveying peatlands, and project partners are involving communities, schools and students in discovering why these special landscapes matter.
Through our social media channels, we’ve been sharing stories about wildlife surveys, restoration, education, training and the skills needed to care for peatlands in the future.
These stories help explain not only what the PEAT+ Project is doing, but why peatland restoration matters for biodiversity, carbon storage, water quality, climate resilience and reducing the risks associated with flooding and wildfires.
There’s plenty happening across the partnership, so in our first PEAT+ Project newsletter, we’re taking a closer look at some of the people, places and wildlife behind the project.
School pupils carry out experiments with PEAT+/ATU PhD student Josephine
Growing the Next Generation of Peatland Professionals
The PEAT+ Project is investing not only in peatlands, but also in the people and skills needed to care for them long into the future.
This summer, students from Atlantic Technological University (ATU) gained practical conservation experience through the PEAT+ Project’s postgraduate summer placement programme. The ten-week placements introduced students to peatland restoration and project sites, connecting their studies with conservation work.
Meanwhile, ATU’s PEAT+ PhD students, Ed Doherty and Josephine Gallagher, are researching innovative approaches to monitoring restoration. Their work includes portable methods for measuring active carbon in peat and mineral soils, alongside in-situ flow sensors to support long-term hydrological monitoring.
The PEAT+ Project is also bringing peatlands into the classroom. Through its Fostering Environmental Stewardship in Schools programme, ATU delivered workshops involving 90 pupils across three schools in Co. Donegal. These activities introduce young people to peatlands, wildlife and restoration, helping them understand why these habitats matter and encouraging an active interest in protecting the natural environment.
Together, these placements, research projects and school workshops demonstrate the PEAT+ Project’s commitment to education, training and environmental engagement. By supporting learning at different stages, the project is helping to build a skilled green workforce and inspire future environmental stewards.
Investing in local skills, jobs and businesses
Investing in Local Businesses
Restoring peatlands also creates opportunities for local businesses and rural economies. Almost €12 million is expected to flow through contractors and suppliers, creating opportunities for machinery operators, engineers, ecologists, consultants and other specialist service providers on both sides of the border.
Alongside creating opportunities through tenders, the project is investing in the skills needed to deliver restoration. Contractor and machinery operator training, including the development of a Lantra-accredited peatland restoration qualification, will help strengthen the specialist skills base required for this project and future restoration work.
The PEAT+ Project is supporting around 40 jobs while helping to build the skills, knowledge and supply chains needed for future peatland restoration and green infrastructure projects. By combining environmental investment with training and opportunities for local businesses, the project is helping to create an economic legacy that can continue beyond the PEAT+ Project itself.
We will be rolling out exciting new tender and training opportunities through the PEAT+ Project and alongside the Peatland Collaborative Network Peatland Collaborative Network, , and we want to make sure you are among the first to hear about them:
- Be notified of upcoming tender opportunities: Contract opportunities for local businesses and contractors to get involved in active restoration and field operations.
- Be notified of upcoming training opportunities: Practical courses covering peatland restoration techniques, machinery use, and skill development.
- Network: Choose to have your contact details shared with our project partners so they can reach out to you directly about relevant opportunities.
Sound good? Register here
PEAT+ Project and Mourne Heritage Trust staff at the Back from the Booley Festival
PEAT+ Project Goes Back from the Booley
Peatlands aren’t just about nature. They’re also deeply connected with our rural communities, history and culture.
Project partner MOURNE HERITAGE TRUST attended the Back from the Booley Festival in Hilltown, Co. Down, a rural community event celebrating heritage and agriculture in the Mournes. Our display included information leaflets and a miniature bog complete with sphagnum and other peatland species, bringing a little piece of the bog to the festival.
Visitors young and old also had the chance to contribute to a wool bog tapestry, offering a creative way to explore the landscapes around them.
Activities like this help the PEAT+ Project take peatland restoration beyond project sites, providing opportunities for local communities to discover more about these landscapes and the work taking place to restore them.
A Sallow moth recorded during biodiversity monitoring by ABC Council staff
Surveys Reveal the Wildlife and History of Our Peatlands
Before we can understand how well restoration is working, we need to understand what is living on our peatlands now and what was there in the past.
Species and habitat surveys are an important part of that process, and our Ecologist Helen Carleton has been working with PEAT+ Project partners carrying out biodiversity survey work.
Across the partnership, surveys and monitoring work are helping us build our understanding of peatland habitats, record the fascinating plants, insects and birds associated with our bogs, and show why restoring their habitats is so important.
Meanwhile, our Archaeologist and Heritage Officer Ellen O'Carroll has been carrying out surveys across our 22 restoration sites, helping ensure that the history and cultural heritage of our peatlands are considered as restoration work progresses.
Stay updated
And there is much more still to come as restoration activity continues across our 22 sites.
Stay connected: Follow the PEAT+ Project on our website Peat+ | Ulster Wildlife, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for the latest restoration updates, wildlife discoveries, events, training opportunities and stories from across the project.