Let’s learn moor

Two members of the North Pennines AONB Partnership team went along to two engagement and education days all about moorlands, and were able to share the work we do in peatland restoration with hundreds of enthusiastic primary school children.

Hamish Carrick, Peatland Support Officer, and Beth Lightburn, Engagement and Interpretation Trainee, attended the ‘Let’s Learn Moor’ events hosted and organised by Raby Estates and partners.

Over two days, 225 children from within and outside the North Pennines AONB came along to hear from a variety of organisations about their work in the uplands. Hamish and Beth shared information about the work of the North Pennines AONB Partnership, why we restore damaged peatlands, and how this work benefits people and nature. They also shared how we work with landowners and other partners right across the AONB to deliver this important work.

The children were able to explore just how important peatlands are, learning about the climate, environmental and biodiversity benefits from healthy peatlands. When asked what the words ‘bog’ and ‘peatlands’ meant to them, there were lots of responses describing wet, muddy and foggy places, rather desolate and barren.

Each group was able to touch and feel a piece of peat, to really understand what it is and how it is made. Sphagnum mosses were a particular hit, with everyone impressed at their process of forming peat after accumulating over thousands of years, and the different colours to be found in just one clump. The highlight, however, was finding out how much water could be stored in one hand-sized Sphagnum clump. This quickly turned from how much water could be squeezed from a clump, to how much could be squeezed onto classmates’ heads – science in action.

Building a bog in a bottle meant that each group was able to discover what each layer was made from and how they were formed.

At the end of the sessions, Beth and Hamish asked the same questions about bogs and peatlands that were asked at the very start. The images the students came up with were of peatlands as useful and diverse places, with a role to play in tackling climate change, flooding and biodiversity loss.

Hamish Carrick said: “We hope the 225 primary students we talked to over the two days enjoyed their session at the peatland pavilion, taking with them an understanding of peatlands and why they matter. They all seemed to have enjoyed their day as a whole, learning about different moorland stakeholders, and the work we all do in the North Pennine uplands.”

With thanks to the Raby Estate and the North Pennines Moorland Group who organised the event.