Hi this is Jill from the Wild Bunch with our latest column.
I was about to buy some potted bulbs recently until I realised that they were potted in peat. It has been a long time since the gardening world was alerted to the dangers of removing peat from the ground in order to enrich our garden soil.
At the end of November last year fellow Wild Buncher, Jane, and I were invited to the Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Honeygar Reserve to find out about nature recovery and carbon storage.
Honeygar was once working farm in the centre of the Avalon Marshes. It was bought by Somerset Wildlife Trust to help to strengthen and protect this area of significant wetland habitat. The rich peatlands in this area, which provide precious wildlife habitats, are also vital carbon stores when well-managed, helping to limit the effects of climate change.
It was fascinating, if a bit soggy underfoot, and we learned so much about the enormous part that precious peat plays in our endeavour to slow down the release of carbon into the atmosphere. Did you know that UK peatlands store a grand total of 3.5 billion tonnes of carbon, impressive, but only while the peatland is intact and in a healthy condition. It takes thousands of years for peat to form, approximately 1cm per 10 years.
When peatland is damaged by drying out or extraction, tonnes of carbon are released into the atmosphere. 80% of precious UK peatlands are already lost or damaged and the Trust tells us that if just 5% more of UK peatlands are lost it would equate to the total annual UK man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Given all this I cannot help but ask why peat is still being extracted for horticultural use. For the sake of our wildlife and our planet we must say no to peat-based compost.
Join the Wild Bunch to find out what you can do to support our wild neighbours, www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/wild-bunch
