Walk & Talk: Peatland Restoration at Innerleithen, Scottish Borders

In partnership with Rosebery Estates, SLE invite members are warmly invited to attend a Walk and Talk designed to share knowledge and experience of a peatland restoration project currently in progress. Members will gain a better understanding of the process from start to finish, and a chance to look at and discuss the various restoration techniques employed.

The project site is located in the Moorfoot Hills (Scottish Borders), of which Rosebery Estates owns approximately one third, some 2800 hectares. This is the third peatland restoration project undertaken with the other two schemes located on other parts of the Estate, which were completed with funding from NatureScot but without seeking carbon credits. The project site we will see is a grouse moor, which is let to a shooting Club whose members are friends of Lord Dalmeny, the Landowner. The site has no livestock.

The objective of the Estate is to restore all the degraded peatland on Rosebery Estates, so a series of projects stretching over the next few years is envisaged. The reason the project has been undertaken is to;

•             Be good stewards of the land

•             Benefit the sporting interest

•             Generate Carbon Credits

The Project

•             Ground surveyed by Peatland Action

•             The area of land affected by the project amounts to 206 ha

•             6.6ha is eroding peat hag or 21580 linear meters of hag 

•             Work on site commenced 17/10/22 and should be completed in Mid-December

•             The scheme has been validated

•             Scottish Woodlands have project managed both on the ground and the project validation grant application to NatureScot

Key elements of the project which participants will see and discuss during the morning programme:

• Background to Rosebery Estates, the peatland restoration project on the Moorfoot Hills and the historical land management context.
• The various stages of the restoration process from feasibility through to current restoration
• The restoration contractor and the various techniques used to restore an eroded site – how techniques have evolved over time
• How to start the application process and gain access to funding
• Getting peatland registered and validated for carbon
• The benefits – from biodiversity net gain to improved water quality and many more

We will be hosted by Jonathan Burrow, Rosebery Estates Factor with contributions from:

• Hugh Martin, PeatlandAction Project Officer
• Neil Aitchison, Senior Forest Manager, Scottish Woodlands
• Emma Kerr, Carbon Manager, Scottish Woodlands

Format of the event

The Walk & Talk will open with a short introduction to Rosebery Estate and the peatland restoration project before we head up to the restoration site in a smaller number of 4WD vehicles.

We will look at several sites across the area, which is relatively flat. Walking is not too challenging although there are ditches to cross and bogs to avoid.

Other information: This event will take place outdoors, much of it on the hill, so please bring suitable clothing and footwear.

This event is free of charge to SLE Members, but booking is essential through the SLE website as places are limited.