Reserve your spot for the workshop now!

On behalf of the Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP) and the Great North Bog, we are delighted to invite you to join our WaterLANDS workshop to discuss and learn about peatland palaeo-archives and the role they can perform in demonstrating peatland development over time and as such their potential to inform future management decisions and thinking.

WaterLANDS is an EU-funded project (December 2021 to December 2026) that will provide a demonstration of upscaling wetland restoration across Europe and Northern England.

The role of this workshop is to introduce and use palaeoecology (ecology of the past) to demonstrate the dynamic nature of blanket peatlands over their history and to especially highlight recent changes over the last 500 years. Peatlands are managed and influenced by many concerned groups from regulators, charities, landowners, gamekeepers, and water companies to name but a few. It has been found that some of these groups may be unaware of peatland development and how that could potentially influence management decisions going forward. The workshop is not going to be prescriptive but will be a chance for people with different views on peatland management to come together and experience what palaeoecology can demonstrate about the development of blanket peatlands and how that context can shape or influence land management decisions.

The workshop will run from approximately 10:00 to 16:00 and will be made up of two sessions. The morning session will involve a presentation on the palaeoecological archive in blanket peatlands and its potential to reconstruct peatland development in the UK, including an opportunity for people to examine peat samples. The afternoon session will involve going on to the local blanket peatland and groups will take cores to see first-hand what is beneath the surface and to interpret findings in terms of peatland development. There will be the opportunity to come back and discuss findings and what they mean in terms of context for the present day and the future of the peatland. The potential to use citizen science to collect peatland data as a means of gaining large useful datasets that can inform management but also to engage with the public will also be discussed.

Morning session - at Oakworth Village Hall, Chapel Lane, Oakworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 7HY

Arrival and welcome (refreshments provided)

A presentation including the following:

• An introduction to the peatland palaeo archive.
• Examination of the general influences on and changes to blanket peatland development over time.
• The potential role for palaeo data in informing future conservancy.

An opportunity to examine first-hand contrasting peat samples from a well-studied location.

Discussion about peatland development with people from contrasting backgrounds.

Lunch (provided)

Afternoon session - site visit at Keighley Moor (SD 98167 39720)

Opportunity to derive and examine core samples first-hand on a local blanket peatland site.

Examine samples in-situ and interpret findings.

Discuss the relevance of findings for the local site but also for blanket peatlands more generally.

The workshop is limited to 20 people to minimise onsite disturbance and maximise attendee participation and gained experience, but it is hoped a cross section of concerned parties will be achieved to enable lively discussion.

Location: Oakworth village is situated approximately 2 miles west of Keighley. If you require any assistance in reaching the venue please indicate this on the registration form. As the afternoon session will include a site visit, please wear appropriate clothing and footwear e.g. walking, boots, outdoor clothing and waterproofs, if necessary.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Yours sincerely,

The WaterLANDS project team