WaterLANDS UK team visit Northumberland nature reserve

Pictured: Prof Julia Martin-Ortego (left) with team visiting Whitelee Moor

A team from University of Leeds, who are working on the ambitious WaterLANDS European wetlands restoration programme hosted a workshop with Northumberland Peat Partnership as part of WaterLANDS support for the Great North Bog.

The morning was spent visiting Whitelee Moor – one of Britain’s most important upland nature reserves which is a site of European conservation importance due to its active blanket bog and heather heaths.

This site is being restored and the team discussed potential methods that could be used for other areas still in need of restoration.

In the afternoon they met to share ideas and consider the latest science and rationale behind restoration.

Some of the topics discussed included spatially-enhanced designs for peatland restoration; the DigiBog Hydro modelling tool; designing pools as carbon processors, flood reduction and aquatic biodiversity; the Palaeo context for peatland management; the PeatDataHub – a repository for peatland datasets from around the world; Findings from Dr Cat Moody’s Fellowship; Trees and Peat; and Economics, Finance, Values and Community Engagement.

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