NI wool for healthy peatlands

Trial of wool logs in North Pennines

By UFU peatlands officer, Stephanie Clokey 

Northern Irish wool is to be trialed for peatland management as a renewable, locally sourced alternative to coir. The Ulster Farmers’ Union and Ulster Wildlife are collaborating with Sustainable Rope Ltd, Ulster Wool and Ulster University, to create and trail prototypes made of Northern Irish wool on areas of eroded and bare peat to improve peatland health. With hopes that if these trials deliver results, using wool could become a standard tool in NI peatland management, cutting emissions, improving biodiversity, supporting local farmers and strengthening rural economies.

Coir

Often coconut husk, also known as coir, is used in peatland restoration in upland areas, a by-product molded into log shapes to slow the flow of water and trap sediment, allowing vegetation like Sphagnum moss, to come back in areas of bare peat. However, coir is often imported from as far as South East Asia, from countries where environmental regulations may be limited, meaning a significant carbon footprint and potentially unsustainable in the long term.

Using local wool in place of coir is not only more sustainable but could create new economic opportunities for hill farmers and a more circular economy for our uplands. Although there has been a growing interest in natural fibers, with an increase in auction prices since the start of the year, overall, the value in wool in recent years has plummeted, with many farmers receiving less for a fleece than it costs to sheer, turning what should be a valuable resource into a wasted by-product. Using wool in future peatland management projects would create a new demand for the undervalued and underused resource and offer support to our rural farming communities.

Trial

A similar trial was carried out in Co. Durham in the North Pennines, where they have successfully installed 150 one meter long wool logs on severely eroded blanket bog, effectively slowing erosion, improving water retention and encouraging vegetation to repopulate. The tenant farmer was commissioned to make the logs from wool from his own sheep that were on the moor, permission was granted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency provided it was sourced from sheep grazing the same area of land the bare peat was on.

Peatlands play a critical role in improving water quality, capturing carbon and supporting biodiversity, with NI peatlands covering 18% of its land and much of this needing vital management. The UFU and Ulster Wildlife both advocate to see similar activities rolled out more widely, turning an undervalued resource into a force for an environmental and economic win.