A week in a life of an international peatland restoration volunteer 

Picture caption: Holyhead port at 1am. Photo credit: Joshua Cohen Day 1, Sunday 3 September As part of the WaterLANDS EU wetland restoration programme, iCASP’s UK Action Site at the Great North Bog has been twinned with the Abbeyleix Bog Knowledge Site in Ireland. During our volunteer week, I visited  Abbeyleix with Action Site Co-ordinator Dr Richard Grayson … Read more

World heritage wetland site threatened by strawberry farming

Sunset at Laguna Dulce by Jorge Monje Strawberry lovers might want to check the provenance of their fruit this summer following controversy about a new farming bill which could cause the devastation of an iconic Spanish wetland. Scientists from the University of Leeds and the Spanish National Research Council say urgent protection is needed for the fragile … Read more

Call for peatlands experts to help with our WaterLANDS research

As part of our work on the WaterLANDS programme, we have conducted an extensive literature synthesis to investigate how physical and chemical drivers are having an impact on the ecosystem functions of wetlands. However, we have identified several gaps in our research, particularly in terms of data availability for certain wetland types and functional relationships.  … Read more

On a fact-finding mission to Bulgaria to exchange ideas about peatland restoration – by Dr Joshua Cohen, Research Fellow, at University of Leeds

I had the privilege of being one of the representatives from Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP) and University of Leeds who took part in the first WaterLANDS General Assembly which in was held in Sofia last month. This also involved a field trip to the Dragoman Marsh – the biggest natural karst wetland in Bulgaria. Our … Read more

Successful artists chosen for a European project to help capture the importance of restoring peatland

Two artists have been employed as part of an ambitious European project to help share the journey of restoring peatlands at a site covering large areas in the north of England. Laura Harrington and Fiona MacDonald (Feral Practice) were selected from around 200 applicants to work with a team leading the Great North Bog initiative … Read more