Peat-Fest South-West joins Discovery Fest in Swanage
The Art and Energy Collective is working with peatland restoration and cultural organisations across the South-West region and together, with funding support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Peat and bog events have been held in Somerset’s Avalon Marshes creating a bog garden, a nature festival in Dartmoor, with partners telling boggy stories and sharing what’s special about the wetlands of Devon, and in Cornwall at Crowdy Lake and moors, looking at what is buried and preserved in peat with young archaeologists.
Discovery Fest poster
Next the Peat-Fest South-West roadshow moves to Dorset with Discovery Fest on Saturday 20th September, 10am – 3pm at Shore Road, Swanage Seafront.
Peat-Fest South-West has pride of place at this busy exciting festival with project partners Planet Purbeck (in partnership with Dorset Coast Forum).
Celebrate Dorset’s heathlands and mires and their precious peat pockets with Peat-Fest South-West at this joint vibrant, family-friendly festival by the sea
• FREE family fun day
• Explore Dorset’s stunning coastline, wildlife, and natural landscapes
• Over 30 exciting activities and exhibitors
• Art and Energy will invite you to ‘Be More Moss’ and make moss inspired pompoms to add to The Mossy Carpet
• Dorset Peatland Partnership invite you to get hands on with locally sourced peat & sphagnum mosses
• Use Virtual Reality to explore peatlands around the country and beyond with the IUCN UK Peatland Programme.
• Meet some of the people involved in caring for peatlands across the South-West region, and welcome anyone new who would like to get involved.
There is something for everybody to enjoy! People can stay all day or pop in.
Peat-Fest South-West is a region-wide celebration aimed at raising awareness of peatland heritage through interactive youth-focused events, intergenerational skills exchange, creative engagement, and digital storytelling. From Somerset and Dorset, Dartmoor and Exmoor down to Cornwall, people of all ages will be invited to experience the power of peatlands and celebrate why they are so special in a series of public events.
“In Dorset, through getting creative, we are shining a light on the vital role peatlands play in tackling climate change and restoring nature. Peatlands do so much to improve our air and water quality, reduce flooding, and improve wildlife. We hope by the end of this Peat-Fest South-West, more people will care for our precious peatlands”
“We will provide an opportunity for people to look first hand at some locally sourced peat cores and there will be some hands-on interactive demonstrations on one of the most amazing properties of peat- it’s ability to lock up water, great for nature and wildlife. The Dorset Peat Partnership will also showcase some great examples of peatland restoration works which have been delivered on the Dorset Heaths, within the last year”
“Together, we’re creating a festival that celebrates Dorset’s people, places and natural world and the power of people working together to make it thrive. You can expect good vibes, friendly faces, and a chance to connect with your community while celebrating Dorset’s natural world”
RE-PEAT has been engaged as a key delivery partner for this project, with specific responsibilities for youth engagement, co-creation of youth focused activities at events, capturing young voices for the development of a regional peatland heritage manifesto.
“It is so exciting that we can work with young people around the region and invite thousands more to fantastic boggy, curiosity-generating events and hear our peaty heritage stories loud and clear”
The South-West is not as renowned for its peaty landscapes as some other parts of the UK, but peatland covers up to 10% of the land throughout the region. Peatland stores more atmospheric carbon than woodlands. It plays a vital role in water security. These environmental benefits are under threat with as little as 3% in a healthy, biodiverse, and functioning state.
“The depth of peatland heritage is as deep as the peaty fens, with experience and voices to be heard during Peat-Fest South-West from workers of peat in the Somerset Levels, farmers of upland peatland landscapes, insect lovers, climate researchers and artists, to archaeologists and landscape restorers”
Peat-Fest South-West will ensure that peatlands will grow in people’s hearts and minds with activities to join in with in all the peatlands across the region.
In the long-term, this regional celebration will strengthen the network of young people, groups and organisations working together for the benefit of peatlands and raise public awareness of the benefits of boggy landscapes at a time of climate change and ecological decline.
Discovery Fest – part of Peat-Fest South-West
Location: Shore Road, Swange Seafront
Timing: Saturday 20th September, 10am – 3pm.
All activities are free.
Further details: https://www.dorsetcoast.com/discovery-fest-20-sept-2025/
Hosted by Dorset Coast Forum, Planet Purbeck and part of Peat-Fest South-West
