Today is International Bog Day, a day to celebrate the brilliance of bogs! 

Bogs act as carbon sinks, locking up carbon dioxide and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. They also provide vital water storage on our heathland habitats, acting as an oasis for specialised plants, like the carnivorous sundews, as well as invertebrates and birds. Restoring our bogs and peats is crucial to fighting the climate crisis. 

This year the Dorset Peat Partnership would like to encourage people to go out and explore the truly remarkable bog habitats that span across our Dorset heathland landscapes. There are so many!

This June, the Dorset Peat Partnership engaged with enthusiastic volunteers to continue our discovery work for the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme.

Together we surveyed several sites to record the baseline vegetation and measure peat depths. The sites that were surveyed are hydrologically damaged due to past drainage and need to be restored to lock up more water and carbon, and provide conditions for peat forming habitats to thrive. We were able to spot many plant and animal communities which are unique to these wet habitat environments- here are some snapshots of the things we saw; we encourage you to go take a look too!

The Dorset Peat Partnership also welcomed the IUCN UK Peatland Programme Manager (Jane Akerman) to visit some of our future peat restoration sites in June. In addition to meeting project partners, the day also involved working alongside the peat monitoring volunteers to record baseline vegetation and peat depths at Salterns Copse, near Arne.

Last month our Dorset Peat Partnership project manager also worked with Tilly, an MSc Intern from Exeter Uni, and the Wildlife Matters team on a peat-themed podcast. Tilly is currently conducting a research project in partnership with Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Dorset Peat Partnership, investigating people’s experiences of Dorset peatlands and peatland restoration. The podcast is currently in the editing stage and will be published in the coming months - so keep your eyes peeled!

The Urban Heath Partnership's annual Heath Week kicks off on Monday 24 July - Sunday 30 July. Browse their list of events and drop in to learn more about our precious bogs! 

Defend Nature

It has been 11 months since Defra announced that it would ban the sale of bagged peat compost by 2024. But where is the legislation? 

We are calling upon the UK Government to follow through on its promise to ban peat sales. But you can also help at home. Keeping your garden peat-free is key to protecting these wonderful habitats – download our brand-new guide here.