Peatland Connections
Valuing our natural capital is key
How do we raise awareness of peatlands and their environmental, biological, and cultural functions? This project aims to shift perceptions of peatlands so that these spaces can be seen as important places full of awe and wonder.
Our local peatlands have a global impact: peatlands cover 3% of the world’s terrestrial surface, but they sequestrate more carbon than all the forests combined.
Find out more at the project's dedicated website here.
The project is funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership.
What We Do
Micro-Commissions
Every creative – and we use that term to include scientists – will look at a landscape through the lens of their expertise. We can use this to bring different understandings around peat into general conversation.
These short snapshots will celebrate other ways of perceiving and experiencing our peatland landscapes. The body of work created during these commissions will be shared to start conversations around peatlands across the region and beyond.
Artists in Residence
Artists will connect to Dumfries and Galloway peatlands and may have a specific lens in which to view the land through. Currently we are engaging with water, which is integral to the peatland landscape.
The Silverflowe and South Dee peatlands, which are part of the same hydrological system, will be the focus of the current work.
Work will be shared with communities to spark further discussion on land-use.
Water Quality Monitoring
Healthy peatland can help improve water conditions, and most critically will help reduce the acidity of watercourses – vital for healthy river systems. Through our water quality monitoring we will gather baseline data on water quality indicators such as pH, temperature, and particulate organic matter.
This data will help evidence the impact of peatland restoration and changes in management practices on water quality, and will inform the development of our land-use management tool.
The Land-Use Management Tool
All material produced by creatives, workshops, events, and water quality monitoring will feed into a practical decision-making tool and the final project exhibition.
The tool will demonstrate how the opinion of local communities and a wider range of stakeholders could be better reflected in the future management of peatlands to ensure maximum environmental and natural capital benefits and outcomes. We will consider aspects such as the practicality/cost effectiveness of ecological restoration, policy/regulation, and the potential for ecological success. We envision that this tool will demonstrate an approach to dealing with complex, and sometimes competing, aims and objectives of land management.
