Peatland Restoration

The first phase of major peatland restoration programme begins on the community owned Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in Langholm. The Langholm Initiative, working alongside Dumfries and Galloway based peatland experts, Crichton Carbon Centre and national utilities provider Scottish Power, will see over 190 hectares of degraded peatland on Middlemoss Head restored in its first phase.

Langholm hit the global headlines in 2021 and 2022 following its historic community buy out which raised an incredible £6m to purchase 10,500 acres of land. The vision, to create a vast nature reserve which was to support nature’s recovery, community regeneration and climate action. Restoration of degraded peatlands across the Valley was one of the flagship ambitions of the community buy-out.

Since the land transferred into community hands, the Langholm Initiative have been developing the scheme with the Crichton Carbon Centre as part of the National Peatland Action Programme which aims to restore hydrology and boost biodiversity.

The capital works are being funded with support from SP Transmission as part of their Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy.  SP Energy Networks have set ambitious goals to achieve “No Net Loss” of biodiversity by 2028 and deliver “Nature Positive” by 2030 in their recently published Action Plan for Nature – and supporting this project helps to deliver those goals.

After a competitive tender, the groundwork, which is due to start in February, will be carried out by contractor DC Restoration Contracts. It will include blocking of over 54km of artificial moorland drains and restoration of exposed areas of peat to stop further erosion. This work will help return the dried peatland to its natural bog-like state and create a mosaic of habitats that will allow a range of species to thrive including wading birds, insects and rare plants.

Jenny Barlow, Reserve Manager at the Langholm Initiative said “The climate and nature emergencies are one of the biggest long-term threats facing us all, and restoring nature on a large scale is one powerful solution – so we are hugely proud to be playing our part. This project will make an incredible difference, we are delighted to be working with the team at Crichton Carbon Centre and SP Transmission to deliver these vital restoration works on one of Scotland’s most precious ecosystems”.

Dr. Emily Taylor, Crichton Carbon Centre said “After much careful planning it is great to see peatland restoration get underway at the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve. We look forward to working with Langholm Initiative to monitor the results to help inform approaches to peatland restoration and management across the area”.