South West Peatland Partnership

28/08/2026

"Playing a small part in ensuring this work is effective is what drives us to volunteer. It’s also a lovely place to work.
Walking out to remote locations with a friend to check on water and peat levels is a great day out and finding the tiny equipment nestled amongst the tussocks is such a thrill.”

SWPP has a small team of highly dedicated volunteers who help us to monitor our Eyes on the Bog equipment across the UKs south west.
Ally and Lou are two of these volunteers who have been out recently to Cranmere on North Dartmoor. They have shared with us why they enjoy it so much and we thought we would share it with you all too -

Eyes on the Bog is a national citizen science monitoring scheme developed by the IUCN Peatland Programme to monitor long-term changes in water table and depth of peat in peatland habitats.

Keeping an eye on them is an excellent way to enjoy the moors, see peatland restoration and contribute to the wider understanding of peatland functioning and were very grateful for volunteers like Ally and Lou. Do get in touch if you'd like to learn more about volunteering.

"Peatland restoration work is vital for the conservation of key native habitats and the retention of water on Dartmoor, to improve water flow rates and reduce flooding in lowland areas. This is becoming increasingly important as our summers become hotter and drier."

21/07/2026

If you have experience in GIS mapping, upland farming systems, habitat restoration projects, and all sorts in between, take a look at this new SWPP job role in Cornwall hosted by Cornwall National Landscape. Applications close tomorrow >>>

01/06/2026

2 full-time job opportunities with the SWPP team are now live. Please share with anyone who you think would like to join this incredible and vital sector in the South West. We're making a huge amount of positive difference together in partnership and are growing the team, and would love to hear from anyone interested in getting involved:

Dartmoor Headwaters Assistant
- Assisting with surveys, restoration plans, map production, monitoring, collating permissions and consents, recruiting contractors and supervising work on the high moor.
- £29,540 - £33,699 Full time, 1-year contract
- Hosted by Dartmoor National Park
https://lnkd.in/e9UP89VD

SWPP Project Officer
- Leading on peatland restoration projects at a site level, managing works from planning through to delivery.
- £34,000 - £38,000 Full time, permanent contract
- Hosted by South West Water
https://lnkd.in/eiH6i_Dv

Both roles involve lots of time out on the moors of the South West, so if that sounds like how you'd like to spend your working week, please do get in touch!

These roles are hosted by Dartmoor National Park Authority & South West Water who, alongside National Trust, host staff who all work together for the South West Peatland Partnership

20/05/2026

If you're at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this week, stop by and say Hi. We're at The Composers Cabin garden in the Houseplant Studios area, part of a garden inspired by West Penwith, peatlands, music, mosses, heathland plants, rocks and valleys.

It's a peaceful spot away from the busyness of the crowds and were really pleased to see a corner of Cornwall highlighted on this stage, and be able to chat about our work to restore the vital carbon-rich peat to be wetter and better for wildlife, people, plants, archaeology and the planet.

We're playing a version of STACKS in between piano recitals, an immersive soundscape created and recorded out on the peat bogs of the UK's South West, allowing visitors to hear the squelches, bird song, whistles and bubbles above and below the peatland's layers.

Designer Martha Krempel
Garden supported by Malvern Garden Studios, St Pancras International, Steinway & Sons

SWPP is funded by Natural England South West Water Environment Agency - South and South West National Trust South West and collaborates with landowners, farmers, researchers, businesses, volunteers and contractors to hydrologically restore degrading peatland.

STACKS is created by Rose Ferraby, Tommy Perman, and Rob St John and can be viewed at peatstacks.uk

02/04/2026

One year on and this leaky dam on Dartmoor has really settled in. The plants and mosses you can see are much more diverse, reducing peat erosion, and holding water back in the landscape.

We've finished up our practical restoration for this year, pausing now for the ground-nesting bird season and to plan works that will start in August again. Thanks to all the contractors, farmers, staff, funders, and volunteers for making a large amount of hydrological restoration happen over this - very wet - winter.

If you're out hiking over Easter, you’ll see where we have blocked erosion and drainage channels using peat and wood. This has created pools of water that importantly help to raise and stabilise the water table within the peat and provide amazing wildlife habitat.

You can see the tracks made by the low ground pressure machinery travelling across the moor during the season. We are working to flatten out these tracks and re-seed areas where appropriate. In places there may be areas of temporary fencing erected to limit disturbance to areas of ground over the coming months.

SWPP is funded by Natural England South West Water Environment Agency National Trust

30/03/2026

‘I just keep going every day that I am here. Bit by bit, every little helps.'

Restoration is about working with both people and land.
It's people who are out through the winter on the moor, planning the works, mastering complex machinery, understanding the specifics of each site, consulting with landusers, monitoring change, applying for permissions.
People who are making really really positive things happen through daunting times environmentally.

The task isn't easy. But it would be insurmountable without the teams we have on board - the contractors, partner organisations, staff on the ground, volunteers and those behind-the-scenes championing the unsung wonders of peatlands and the effectiveness of restoration.

It's got us to where we are now, and will take us so much further.

It was great to have The Guardian's Sandra Laville and photographer Jim Wileman out for the day on a hailing, rainy, snowy, sunny and cold North Dartmoor back in February to chat to the SWPP team, contractors like Al, and understand the work taking place.

Thanks for joining us, and for spotlighting not just the nature, the water, the archaeology, the carbon and the peat, but the dedicated people who are making it all happen.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/28/britain-peatlands-restore-dartmoor-bog-carbon-store

With thanks to the ongoing funding for SWPP's work from Natural England South West Water Environment Agency National Trust Dartmoor and for the contractors, partner organisations, landowners, farmers, volunteers, commoners and researchers who work with us year-round.

A project on Dartmoor to reprofile the landscape aims to return the springy bog – and carbon store – to its natural condition

11/02/2026

Swipe to make a positive change ➡️

Reprofiling is a big part of our approach out on the moors, used alongside blocking drainage channels and creating pools of water. Contractors stabilise these large and rapidly-eroding bare peat edges - swipe to see the results from this week out on Dartmoor immediately after.

This work protects against ongoing erosion and, combined with other techniques, helps to raise and stabilise the water table within the carbon-rich peat.

We'll recapture this view for you in a few months once the works have settled in and the area looking better, wetter and wilder.

SWPP is funded by and . Thank you to all the partner organisations, contractors, farmers, interest groups, commoners, volunteers and researchers who enable our work to happen.

02/02/2026

Peatlands matter.

Overlooked in our daily lives, the peat of Dartmoor, Exmoor and Cornwall stores carbon, regulates water, supports wildlife and preserves human history. But most of it is damaged and urgently needs restoration.

Our new film shares the optimism, hard work, monitoring and partnership behind bringing these peatlands back to life here in the South West. Over 5,000 hectares have had restoration works to slow the flow of water, reduce erosion and create essential spaces for nature, but there’s still so much more to be done.

Take 11½ minutes to meet the team, see the transformation underway, and discover why what we do today matters so much for the next 40 years.

A huge thank you to everyone who makes this work possible, and to Here Now Films for bringing these peatland stories to life.

SWPP is funded by Natural England South West Water Environment Agency National Trust Thank you to all the partner organisations, contractors, farmers, interest groups, commoners, volunteers and researchers who enable our work to happen.

https://youtu.be/t3VCDaHLfok?si=OnGOZtLT74zTEmIV
Somerset Outdoor - National Trust National Trust Dartmoor

Peatlands are extraordinary landscapes, out of sight from many of our daily lives, but powerful and vital for life as we know it. Our new film reveals their ...

30/01/2026

Coming this Monday: a film celebrating the beauty and complexity of peatlands, and the need for urgent action to restore them.
You'll meet just some of the team working year-round to make the South West's peatlands wetter and better for all.
Stay tuned...

06/01/2026

Snow is dusting the UK's South West this week, and those summer days of t-shirts, sphagnum ID, and lunch breaks spotting dragonflies feel far away.

But the days are slowly getting longer, and the restoration works being done this week are laying the foundations for summers ahead of healthy, interesting, resilient peatlands. We'll soon spot frogspawn and adders emerging, have to shout to be heard above the skylarks and snipe, and enjoy the rewards of a winter spent out on the moors making good for our incredible peatlands.

>> Video showing snippets from a summer day monitoring the current plantlife in an area of conifer forest that, once trees are removed by the landowner, could see the surrounding peatland thrive