Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is working with Trusts and other partners in Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire and Northumberland to restore a huge swathe of peat bog across the north of England. The Great North Bog project aims to put over 4,000 hectares of upland peatland under restoration management, with estimated annual savings in carbon emissions of at least 8,590 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare, per year. Funding will scale up the project, to include:

•    developing up to 15 new restoration plans
•    marketing peatland restoration to private investors
•    conducting long-term monitoring over 20 years with techniques and equipment developed by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and University of Manchester

The projects, which will help the UK achieve its ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, are able to move forward thanks to almost £2 million in funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

In other areas, new seagrass habitats will be planted in the Solent, fragmented woodlands will be restored and connected throughout Derbyshire, habitat features to protect temperature-sensitive chalk grassland butterflies in Bedfordshire will be created, and support will be given to a pioneering project to rewild a kelp forest off the Sussex coast.

As the UK gears up to hosting the UN climate conference COP 26 in November, The Wildlife Trusts – a movement of 46 nature charities – are delivering on-the-ground solutions to ensure the UK plays its part in tackling the interlinked climate and nature crises.

The restoration of the natural world is fundamental to realising the ambition to restrict global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Dr Tim Thom, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Peat Programme Manager said:
“Thanks to the generosity of the People’s Postcode Lottery and its players, we’ll be able to expand on our already landscape-scale ambitions to restore the upland peatlands of the north.

“Not only are we making bog restoration bigger, but long-term monitoring will help us understand how we can make it better. By observing progress over time, we can adapt our techniques to improve how we restore peatlands in future.

“Peatlands store a colossal amount of carbon - 400million tonnes across the north of England – and it’s vital that carbon stays in the ground if we are to meet the climate challenge.”
 

Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says:

“Nature can be our biggest ally in limiting global temperature rises, but we have to give it a huge helping hand. We need to cut emissions at source to fight climate change – and we can also have a big impact by restoring nature because wilder places lock-up carbon.

“That means repairing the amazing habitats in our seas, rewetting peatlands, dramatically changing how we manage farmland, rewilding landscapes, and bringing back habitats that have been lost.

“Crucially, we need to fund projects that get results. Thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, we’re delighted to move forward with these 12 high-impact schemes, which will help to bring nature back and store carbon – both on land and at sea.”

Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, says:

“We’re delighted funding raised by our players is helping The Wildlife Trusts restore habitats across the country that play a key role in accumulating and storing carbon. By helping nature thrive, these ambitious projects offer solutions to the challenges we face from climate change so these landscapes and the wildlife there can be enjoyed by future generations.

“Players of People’s Postcode Lottery are supporting these projects as part of our Postcode Climate Challenge initiative, which is providing 12 charities with an additional £24 million in funding for initiatives tackling climate change this year.”

The diversity of the 12 projects reflects the vast and varied ways nature can help to tackle climate change. They also show how the UK can become a world leader in transforming its land and seas to lock in carbon and bring wildlife back as well.

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have been supporting The Wildlife Trusts since 2008 and have raised over £15 million to date.

Funding has helped The Wildlife Trusts to protect wild places and wildlife, provide opportunities for children to explore nature, create outdoor learning areas, and empower people of all ages to help wildlife in their daily lives.

Find out more about The Wildlife Trusts nature-based solutions programmes.