For peat's sake! sponsored by Environment Agency What's brown and soggy but also very green? AMY HUNT finds out about a project to protect our peat and our planet.

Byline: AMY HUNT

IT LOOKS like soil, there is loads of it on our doorsteps and it can tell us a lot about the environment.

But you probably do not know anything about it.

Peat is increasingly seen as an important resource in the fight against climate change.

And while city folk may not often see it, peat, partially rotted vegetation, has a massive impact on all our lives.

In the rolling landscape of the North Pennines lies more than a quarter of England's peat and a project has been set up to protect it.

The Peatscapes initiative aims to conserve the peatland for the future, while increasing its awareness.

Peat takes in and stores carbon from the atmosphere, ridding it of the harmful greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which causes global warming. There are 60m tonnes of CO2 encased in the peat in the North Pennines, equivalent to 30 years of emissions from the Drax power station.

It also absorbs rain like a sponge, slowing it down and stopping it running too fast into rivers, potentially causing flooding.

It also prevents streams being contaminated with peat and other sediment, which can have a negative effect on fish and wildlife. Millions of pounds are spent every year cleaning rivers which have been contaminated in this way.

But peat only does these amazing things if it is treated with care. The problem is, after the war, large areas of peat in the Pennines were drained to be used as farmland and for the grazing of animals.

Now the race is on to restore the peatlands to their former glory, by building them back up, creating dams to keep in water, in a process called grip blocking.

Started in 2006, the Peatscapes project, originally funded by the Northumbria Local Levy, has aimed to restore priority areas of the 90,000 hectares of peat bogs in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Around 200km of grip blocking has already taken place. Usually machines are used to block up the drainage ditches, although groups of volunteers are also invited to help with smaller areas of grip blocking by hand.

It is thought there are currently more than 9,000 km of grips in the area having negative and measurable effects on water quality, flood risk and carbon emissions.

The project, supported by partners including the Environment Agency, County Durham Environmental Trust, Natural England and Northumbrian Water, was originally planned to be for three years, but because of its success it has been extended by another three until 2012.

Restoring peat areas is also better for wildlife as it provides habitats. It can also provide a glimpse into the past, as the moist atmosphere preserves plants and animals which fall into it. When dug up, the fossilised remains can provide information about species which have now died out.

Peatscapes Project Manager Paul Leadbitter, said: "People know more about the rainforests than they do about peat. But people would be surprised how many times they've driven past areas of peat and not realised. Sorting out peat is quite an easy fix in terms of carbon emissions. If we fixed all the peat it would give the cities more time to get their carbon management plans in order. The peat in the Pennines has an effect on water quality, CO2 emissions and biodiversity in the North East, and on people in cities, miles away from the peat.

So it's very important."

Bob Carrick, project co-ordinator at the Environment Agency, said: "Upland peatland restoration is an important and effective method in reducing flood risk in urban areas. By keeping the precipitation runoff in the uplands longer means less risk of flooding in low lying areas."

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