raise farmer awareness (and that of the wider public) regarding the sustainable management of peatlands and other farm habitats; 

diversify farm income streams through results-based payments and increase farm profitability by reducing inputs; and, 

enhance the environmental performance of farms in the areas of biodiversity, water quality, carbon storage and soil health.

Initial surveys have been carried out on the participating farms to determine baseline measures of biodiversity (plants, birds, bats), carbon stocks (peat depth and carbon content), physical, chemical and biological soil quality with a scope to match interventions to site properties, GHG emissions, water quality (biological and chemical quality), plant productivity (by multi-spectral drone) and above-ground carbon storage (by LIDAR drone). The project has been integrated with other research work, namely the NUIG-Teagasc project ReWet, providing detailed measurements of water table levels on eight farms and eddy covariance tower monitoring of an improved peat pasture via NASCO (National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory). 

Farmers have undergone online training and on-site workshops (e.g. on multi-species grasslands, peatland management, etc.) and social impact studies conducted by interview to identify key issues that need to be addressed to promote the necessary cultural shift away from field drainage towards ‘rewetting'. 

Public awareness of the issues has been promoted via public talks at national conferences and events, articles and blogs, websites, social media and pieces on national television.

Survey results have been collated to produce Whole Farm Plans addressing all on-farm habitats (peatlands, hedgerows, woodlands and pastures) from which farmers select their chosen improvement measures to increase carbon sequestration, reduce GHG emissions, enhance biodiversity and/or improve water quality.

Mitigation/restoration measures have been implemented. These include habitat creation, rewetting and improvement across farmed and marginal peatland habitats, hedgerows, meadows, ponds and woodlands as well as results-based scorecards for each of these.

Follow-up field surveys will determine the new results after the implementation of the chosen improvement measures. The differences between measurements before and after implementation of remedial actions (e.g. rewilding, partial/full rewetting, paludiculture, etc.) will establish the new Shannon value (an index of biological variability).

Additional qualitative sociological research will further investigate motivators and barriers to building the trust between farmers and organisations they work with, to strengthen future collaboration by fully addressing all issues raised by farmers.

A combination of methods, arguments and tools have been developed to enhance the sustainability of the whole farm, but in particular the farmed peatland habitats (e.g. partial/full rewetting, rewilding, paludiculture trials etc.) to provide alternative income streams to farmers. These include a range of Water Table Management (WTM) measures to address a range of farmed peatland scenarios and farming practices.

A literature review and data mining has been conducted to analyse GHG emission trends in order to produce tier two to three emission factors for Irish peatlands and for the subsequent prediction of the effect of changes in farm management on GHG emissions and optimisation and farmer benefit following the adoption of such measures.

Peatland rewetted by end of 2023 should total 40 hectares of peat pasture, 10 hectares of cutover, cutover wood and fen and five hectares of blanket bog (equivalent to 320-690 avoided tCO2e – tonnes of CO₂ equivalent – emissions from 85K tonnes of stored carbon).

2 000 m² of new pond habitats will have been created and a landscape-level restoration plan for Ballinamoe Bog will allow the rewetting of a 40-hectare bog complex of high bog, cutover and cutover wood, resulting in avoided emissions of about 200 tCO2e and locking in 120K tonnes of carbon.

An Irish Peatland Code drafted for peat grasslands (with future inclusion of additional peatland habitats) for deployment in the voluntary carbon market, including worked case studies of Group Project Designs of farms for high quality (stacked) offsetting from implementation of emission reduction measures via water table management of peat soils and other actions.

New paludiculture crops will be under trial in the areas of pasture, floristry, forestry, fruit, vegetables, construction and clothing materials to identify the most promising for future production.

10K followers on social media channels and a series of awareness-raising films on peatlands, sustainable management of farmed peatlands and other farm habitats.

A range of suitable solutions, arguments and case studies for appropriate water table management (partial/full rewetting, paludiculture, etc.) of peat pastures has been developed based on extensive discussions and interviews with farmers to support the cultural shift from drainage to rewetting and achieve the desired reduction in GHG emissions. This includes a staged, results-based payment to farmers which maintained a supply of grazing for livestock and gave farmers control of the process.

A range of other measures across farm hedgerows, meadow, scrub and woodland to improve biodiversity and increase carbon sequestration, for example, installation of filtration ponds, hedge-laying, etc.

All measures should be specifically tailored to each farm and provide a range of options for the rewetting of peat grasslands (and other habitat improvement measures).

Farmers’ opinions and concerns must be extensively solicited and great care taken to properly address these. However, in the first instance, the participating farmers have a keen first-hand awareness of biodiversity loss and climate change and consequently show a great interest, enthusiasm and commitment to the work being undertaken.

The maximum environmental outcomes can be achieved through a broad and deep ecological knowledge to incorporate best conservation practices coupled with a common sense (non-dogmatic) approach to balance measures proposed with standard farming practices and objectives.

As the project developed, the need for additional competencies emerged and these were identified and brought into the team as required. 

Future projects would place a significant emphasis on full evaluation and review of partner performance to ensure suitability of their contributions with strongly worded options to enforce contractual obligations.