Vital funding secured for the ‘discovery’ of North West’s peatlands

Vital funding secured for the ‘discovery’ of North West’s peatlands - Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside

moorland with hills in the background and a blue sky — Winmarleigh Moss SSSI (Lancashire Wildlife Trust)

Peatlands across Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester will be identified and investigated thanks to thousands of pounds of ‘discovery’ funding from the Government’s Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. This is the vital first stage in eventual restoration of these precious peatlands, bringing benefits to people, wildlife and helping to fight our climate emergency.

Lowland peatlands only make up 14 per cent of the UK’s peat soils, however they account for 56 per cent of carbon emissions from peatlands - a staggering 9 million tonnes of CO2e per year. That’s equivalent to the emissions from over 1 million homes, or 2.4 coal fired power stations. However, many of our lowland peatlands are under private ownership, converted to agriculture, isolated, degraded and fragmented. This makes assessing these sites for potential restoration or alternative climate-friendly land management methods complex and time consuming.

The Northern Lowland Peatland Coalition, made up of organisations including the Lancashire and Cumbria Peat Partnerships, the Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership and the National Trust, has secured £180,000 funding to identify and assess 600 hectares of lowland peatlands across the North West. The aim being to eventually restoring these rare habitats’ ability to help fight climate change and boost biodiversity.