Managing peatland workshop

CROFTERS and other land managers in Shetland are being offered a chance to understand how to improve their peatland while helping their business and the environment at a workshop on Friday.

Three speakers will outline how to apply for some of the £15 million pledged by the Scottish government to improve Scotland’s peatland.

Peatland is considered an important carbon sink whose protection is important to help avert the damage caused by climate change.

As well as storing carbon, peatland also helps provide clean drinking water, helps to regulate floods and supports a wide variety of wildlife.

Friday’s workshop in the Shetland Livestock Marketing Group’s Staney Hill offices at the Shetland Rural Centre features Mark Reed, who devised the UK Peatland Code, local peatland restoration project officer Sue White and peatland specialist Kathleen Allen from Edinburgh University.

One of the aims is to find out how land users in Shetland think the money would be best spent in the islands.

Advice will also be on hand on how to integrate a peat management plan into a crofting or farming business, including how to apply for funding and what the wider benefits might be.

The workshop starts at 10am and runs all day until 4pm. More information can be found here.