A new peatland restoration trial at Slievenanee Mountain in the Antrim Hills is exploring whether locally sourced wool can help restore damaged blanket bog.
The initiative, led by Ulster Wildlife and Ulster Farmers’ Union, working alongside Sustainable Rope Ltd, Ulster Wool and Ulster University, is the largest trial of its kind in Northern Ireland to date. There are 60 ‘logs’ made from scoured local wool.
The project involves installing 60 “wool logs” in areas of exposed and eroded blanket bog. Made from scoured fleece compacted into wool textile sacks, the logs are designed to slow water flow, trap sediment, and support the re-establishment of peat-forming vegetation such as sphagnum moss.
Wool, as a material, has already shown promising results in peatland trials elsewhere in the UK, particularly at upland sites in Scotland and northern England, where it has been used to stabilise eroding peat and retain moisture.
UFU Peatlands officer Stephanie Clokey said, “Wool is a natural, biodegradable material and is a logical solution for peatland management. Here we’re helping to rebuild damaged areas by using materials that work with the landscape, while supporting local farmers and adding value to something that has recently often been treated as a waste product rather than a resource, while creating new opportunities for what is often an underused by-product of farming.”
To learn more about the project, visit their website – https://www.ulsterwildlife.org/news/local-wool-put-test-innovative-peatland-restoration-trial
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