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Project

Peatland Restoration Project

An aerial view of an expansive green, flat landscape, showing bare earth (brown mud) where excavations have recently taken place, and areas of open water shining silver-blue in the spring sun - a muddy bank surrounds the area of open water and a long, straight ditch is located to its side
Aerial view of Burwell Fen after peatland restoration | © FEPP

Learn more about the progress of Wicken Fen's ambitious project to restore 590 acres (239 hectares) of peatland.

Peatlands are earth's largest terrestrial carbon store, holding more than twice the amount of carbon than all the world's forests. The East Anglian Fens once covered a huge area of 3,800 square kilometres of deep peat, before being widely drained in the 17th century. Wicken Fen constists of one of the last remaining fragments of undrained fenland, of which only 1% remains, making the nature reserve a unique haven and one of the last refuges for a host of fenland species dependent on the peatland soils.

Without action, most remaining peat in the Fens could be lost within 30 years, emitting harmful carbon as it degrades. Across Wicken Fen, a project is afoot to restore peat, retaining rainwater and managing water tables. Keeping peatlands in a healthy, saturated state enables them to store carbon, help control flooding, reduce wildfire risk and drought, and provide important habitat for rare wildlife including waterbirds.

Project partners

This £2 million project is predominately funded through DEFRA’s 'Nature for Climate' Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS) managed by Fens East Peatland Partnership (FEPP) lead partner; Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, with match funding from grants, philanthropy and corporate partners including Starling Bank and Anglian Water.

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Video
Video

Peatland restoration at Wicken Fen

Ellis Selway (Peatland Restoration Project Manager) talks about the physical challenges and opportunities of restoring fenland peat within the current and ‘Wider Vision’ area of Wicken Fen.

Project Progress

21 July

Monitoring greenhouse gases

Installation of Flux Tower

Funded by DEFRA’s LAPSIP a new flux tower has been installed by Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) on Sedge Fen. This will allow us to monitor greenhouse gases - such as carbon dioxide and methane - along with climate data.  Healthy peatlands store carbon and the flux tower will monitor the release and capture of carbon. Like most peatlands, the fen at Wicken is at risk from climate change and more water is needed to help capture carbon. This will give us invaluable insight along our other monitoring to see how the fen is being affected. 

 

Works on Verrall's Fen

Works are currently being undertaken on Verrall’s Fen to upgrade crossing points over our ditch network. Delayed from a very wet autumn last year, the drought conditions provide a window to install in drier conditions. These crossings provide safe access for management and movement of our wild livestock. The works will take around 10 weeks to complete and our funded through the Nature for Climate fund.

Three people are stood around a tall, thin white tower (flux tower - a piece of scientific research equipment) with sensors on it, on an area of flat green grass with blue skies and bushes in the background
Flux tower on Sedge Fen | © Ellis Selway

Our partners

Starling Bank

We've partnered with Starling Bank to improve access to nature and fund vital conservation projects.

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