Young people discover the secrets of Peat Land

Prince’s Trust group at Chelburn

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Groundwork Oldham Rochdale, has taken workshops into ten primary schools to explain why Peat Land in the South Pennines holds the key to tackling climate change.

Dene Marland, education and communities project officer for Groundwork Oldham Rochdale, said the children had all really enjoyed them. “We started by telling the children about Lindow Man, who was found in peat land that had preserved him for centuries. The children then acted as detectives trying to work out why his remains had survived and through this we introduced them to the ecological importance of peat land,” explained Dene.

He added: “Some of the children had little or no knowledge of the peat land before the workshop so hopefully they learnt more about their local landscape.”

The Precious Peat workshops introduced the children to the idea that peat land is a diverse ecosystem as precious as the rainforests, which is just here on the doorstep. Steps need to be taken to protect what is left as 90 per cent of the peat land has already been degraded through pollution, erosion and overuse. Through the Watershed Landscape project restoration is taking place with the replanting of native plant species, including cotton grass, crowberry and bilberry.

Suzanne Walton, education and communities manager at Groundwork Oldham Rochdale, has conducted guided walks to Hollingworth Lake, and Chelburn Reservoirs above Littleborough and Castleshaw Reservoirs near Delph to introduce different groups of people to the South Pennines.

“We’ve taken out young people on the Prince’s Trust scheme, Active Citizens from Oldham, visitors from Pakistan, and young people from the Mahdlo youth centre in Oldham; groups of people who may not normally take advantage of the local landscape,” explained Suzanne.

“We’ve also been working with volunteers to create a presentation to encourage people to go out on walks. We’d like to see more people, from different backgrounds, going out. And maybe after they’ve been on a guided walk they’ll feel able to go for their own independent walks later on.”

Since 2009 the Watershed Landscape project has restored fields, dry-stone walls and footpaths, worked with volunteers and brought the story of the South Pennines to hundreds of people. The project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and the South Pennines LEADER programme, (the Rural Development Programme for England), which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and managed by Pennine Prospects.

Through the Precious Peat workshops funded through the Watershed Landscape project, managed by rural regeneration company Pennine Prospects, children in the Oldham and Rochdale area have discovered the wonders of peat and its global significance as a carbon store and diverse habitat. They found out that peat land in Britain stores more carbon than all the forests and woodlands in Britain and France combined. And they even got a chance to make their own mini peat land in the classroom as part of the interactive sessions.