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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 7d

Meet our contractors 🐶🐾 These two corgis are very experienced at #peatland restoration work and are highly skilled digger operators. They have the added advantage of having nice warm coats, ready for when the weather turns cold ❄️😊

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 9d

Peat and whisky have a long association🥃

As the importance of protecting and restoring peatlands is now recognised 💚 the Manx Whisky Company create their delicious whisky without the use of peat, using other ways of creating flavours 😋 It was great to show them around one of our sites!

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 12d

One of the best things about Autumn is the gorgeous colours 😍 This is the time of year where #sphagnum mosses become more vibrant and really stand out amongst other #peatland vegetation 💚 Cotton grass turns autumnal red and cladonia lichen (aka reindeer moss 🦌) adds a splash of white 😁

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 13d

What was once an eroding water channel is now a series of small pools 😀 Simple measures like installing these coir logs can slow the flow of water, reduce erosion and create small pools to benefit wildlife 🐦🦋

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 16d

Just over ten years ago a landslide occurred😢 likely due to the presence of #peat pipes💦

A site visit today showed how the area is starting to fix itself 💚 #Sphagnum has grown around these tussocks, giving an insight as to how peatlands can start to develop after a major disturbance 😊

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 19d

Another guided walk in fabulous conditions 😂, this time for delegates at the Inter-island Environment Meeting #IIEM25 . We saw nothing of the surrounding hills 💚 but saw enough #peatland restoration, interesting fungi, mist and #sphagnum moss to keep everyone happy 💦🌿

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 23d

Peat pipes can sometimes be seen emerging from #peat hags, like this one on Snaefell. These underground channels form as water 💦 passes through cracks in the peat, slowly eroding the peat around it.

Sometimes the roof collapses to form a hole 😱 This one (photo 3) was nearly a metre deep!

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 27d

It's interesting to think about how the landscape may have looked thousands of years ago! Local pollen records suggest a decline in tree cover starting in the bronze age.

Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 27d

Peat cutting used to be done across the Island but was concentrated in a few areas. It was banned in 2020 😊

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 27d

This piece of wood, likely hawthorn🌳 was found at the base of a #peat hag on Snaefell. Wet, acidic peat can preserve materials for a very long time. Without carbon-dating, it's impossible to tell exactly how long this wood has been buried, but it's likely to be THOUSANDS of years old 😮

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · 28d

Yesterday we made the most of the beautiful weather 😆 to show #Tynwald members around our Beinn-y-Phott site.

Despite the typical 'bog' conditions 💨💦 we were able to look at the work that's been done to reprofile and revegetate eroding peat hags and slow the flow of water 😊

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Sep 8

It was great to be joined on Friday by Gareth from www.conservefor.co.uk 😊 We had a look at some of our #peatland sites and discussed different restoration methods. Gareth has many years of experience in this type of work and was happy to share his ideas while on the Island 👍

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Sep 5

Beinn-y-Phott is one of the few places on the Island where fir clubmoss can be easily found🧐 Here it was found clinging to the overhanging edge of a peat hag💪These primitive, ancient plants reproduce by spores, like mosses, but are part of a group of vascular plants that are 400 million years old💚

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Sep 3

Find out about the depth and extent of upland #peat on the Isle of Man by viewing our new interactive peatland map 😁 You can also view photographs 📸 of restoration areas, at fixed points, which will show changes over time. Visit our website to find out more www.manxpeat.org/map

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Sep 3

I didn't unfortunately - if it's still there after the rain I'll have a sniff! I've been told it's likely to be garlic waxcap or bitter waxcap...

Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Sep 2

This gorgeous, glowing mushroom was found growing among the #sphagnum 😍 It's amazing what you can find when you look closely 👀

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 28

We've been impressed by how much vegetation has established on reprofiled #peat hags, however some places need a helping hand 👇 This hag had areas where the peat was still bare, so we've transplanted some small plugs 🌿 from the adjacent hillside 😊

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 26

Damming small drainage ditches can have an immediate effect. What was once an area of dried out bare #peat is now a small upland pool. This will keep the surrounding peat wet and create habitat for invertebrates and birds 🐦See the last three photos to see the pool infilling 😊

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 22

A magical moment 😍 when the newly created pools are visited by a dragonfly 🐉 laying it's eggs. The restoration of wet areas within peatlands benefits wildlife, carbon storage and drought resilience 😁

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 21

Cutting #peat for fuel in the past has left some areas of the hills with bare, eroding peat. In these places the first step is to slow the flow of water💦 which we have done here using coir logs. We are currently trialling growing our own moss for use on this site 🌿😊

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 15

It's nearly time for restoration work to start again, so we made the most of the calm weather to gather some drone shots of the site before the work😊 This site was historically cut for fuel, which has left exposed and eroding peat hags, shallow vegetated gullies and hidden peat pipes.

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 12

Invertebrates are an important source of food for upland birds 🦟🐦 Craneflies and midges are most common, but the warm weather has brought out the flying ants. Unfortunately these ones have landed in a #peaty pool 😬

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 11

One of the few cottongrass seed heads left on the hills 😢 But just as we lose these summer beauties, the autumn brings out the vibrant colours of sphagnum mosses ☺️ The seasonal change in peatland vegetation transforms the colour of the hills 💚🤍💜🧡

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 8

Some more before and after photos, this time from Beinn-y-Phott. The first two show a large peat pipe which was reprofiled last winter. The second two photos show a peat hag which was reprofiled just before a large storm, which caused some damage, but it is now looking lovely and green 🌿 ☺️

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Manx Peat Partnership @manxpeat.bsky.social · Aug 7

Bog Asphodel flowers are turning from yellow to orange as they fruit, but they still look beautiful ☺️ They grow in wet, acidic conditions and were once thought to cause brittle bones in livestock. The plants can cause problems for lambs, however other plants are usually eaten in preference 🐏

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