National Parks Partnerships secures Funding Circle support for vital peatland restoration in Northumberland National Park - UK National Parks
- First funded project will restore 11 hectares of peatland at Greenlee Lough in Northumberland National Park
- UK National Parks store 119 million tonnes of carbon in peatlands, making restoration vital for net zero targets and business resilience
- This project will support the 4,430-hectare Hadrian’s Wall Wetlands Landscape Recovery Project
The National Parks has announced a new partnership with Funding Circle to support large-scale peatland restoration, starting in Northumberland National Park.
Funding Circle, the UK’s leading SME finance platform, will initially support the restoration of 11 hectares of peatland at Greenlee Lough, located within the Hadrian’s Wall UNESCO World Heritage Site. The partnership has been brought together by National Parks Partnerships (NPP), which operates at a national scale to link companies, investors and environmental funders with all 15 UK National Parks.
A national opportunity for climate action
Across the UK, National Parks are some of the richest natural carbon stores, and some of our greatest opportunities for climate action and business resilience. Peatlands within National Parks alone store an estimated 119 million tonnes of carbon.
However, many peatland systems have been historically drained or degraded. Restoring them is essential to reducing emissions, improving biodiversity and strengthening water resilience.
Restoring an internationally significant landscape
Greenlee and Stonefolds farms, in the ownership of Northumberland National Park Authority, extend across 196 hectares in the centre of Hadrian’s Wall UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is internationally significant and designated as a Special Area of Conservation, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature Reserve. Greenlee Lough is also the largest natural freshwater lake in Northumberland.