South West peatland restoration is helping to slow water flows, support water quality and protect carbon-rich landscapes across Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bodmin Moor and West Penwith.
South West Water has marked World Peatlands Day by highlighting its role in the South West Peatland Partnership, which is restoring damaged peatland across the region.
The partnership works across Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bodmin Moor and West Penwith. South West Water is a funder and lead partner organisation.
According to South West Water, the South West Peatland Partnership has restored 5,000 hectares of peatland that would otherwise have continued degrading. That is equivalent to more than 7,000 football pitches.
South West peatland restoration supports water management
Healthy peatlands store carbon, support wildlife and help manage water naturally. They can also help slow the flow of water leaving upland areas, reducing erosion and supporting more resilient catchments.
The South West Peatland Partnership says restored peatlands can support wildlife, manage flooding, improve water security and enhance the historic environment.
South West Water said volunteers have been working with the partnership team and others on Dartmoor to create wooden blocks and plant trees in selected locations.
The work is intended to trap sediment, slow water flow, diversify wildlife habitats and prevent further erosion of carbon-rich peat.
Peatland work aims to slow water flow
The restoration activities are designed to help level the water table in the peat and encourage peat-forming mosses to colonise and thrive.
Grey willow, oak, hawthorn, alder and rowan saplings have been planted in approved locations to help stabilise water levels and provide habitat for birds and insects.
Peatland restoration is a long-term process. South West Water said peat forms at approximately 1mm per year, although newly wetted sites can show early signs of recovery, including dragonflies and visiting wading birds.
Making moorlands more resilient to extreme weather can also help protect the thousands of years of environmental history preserved in peat.
World Peatlands Day raises awareness of damaged peat
World Peatlands Day is used to raise awareness of peatlands, which are often out of sight but play an important role in climate, biodiversity and water management.
Globally, peatlands store more carbon than all of the world’s forests combined. When peatlands are disturbed and dried out, they can release carbon and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
South West Water said approximately 80% of peat in the UK is damaged and releasing emissions.
Morag Angus, South West Peatland Partnership Manager, said: “World Peatland Day is an important part of raising awareness about peatlands and works to restore them, especially with the increasingly crucial role they could play in mitigating the climate crisis.”
South West Water highlights partnership role
Carolyn Cadman, South West Water’s Chief Sustainability and Natural Resources Officer, said: “Peatlands are pivotal to the wider ecosystem due to their ability to store carbon and slow the flow of rainwater, improving water quality and wildlife. The work that the South West Peatland Partnership do to help restore peatland is necessary and inspiring, and South West Water is proud to continue to support SWPP as their lead partner organisation.”
The partnership’s work also forms part of wider public engagement around peatland conservation.
Travellers passing through St Pancras International this month can see a pop-up of garden designer Martha Krempel’s The Composer’s Cabin, which appeared at RHS Chelsea 2026. The installation includes a peat core provided by the South West Peatland Partnership and is designed to explain the layers of history preserved in peatlands.
The feature garden combines music, storytelling and peatland-inspired planting to raise awareness of these ecosystems and the importance of peat-free sustainable gardening.
Film showcases South West peatland restoration
Earlier this year, the South West Peatland Partnership commissioned Cornwall-based Here Now Films to produce The Living Layer, an 11-minute film about peatlands and the teams restoring them.
The film went on to win Overall Winner at the 2026 Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival, according to Here Now Films.
H2O Global News has previously reported on South West Water and South West Peatland Partnership work at Burrator Reservoir, where peatland restoration was introduced to slow water flow and create conditions for peat to form again. Read more here: Large-scale project to restore damaged peatland kicks off at Burrator.
Source: South West Water; South West Peatland Partnership
