RE-PEAT’s Rachael reflects on Peat-Fest South-West
Rachael Milliner, Peat-Fest South-West Project Coordinator for RE-PEAT.
Wet, cold and squelchy. A relief for my clammy hands on a hot day at the Heath. The sundews sparkle in the light as I cool down crouched next to the bog.
Thinking about the wind whistling through the pipes along the bridge at Crowdy, the marsh stretching out into the horizon.
Winding hills in Exmoor up to the peat bogs speckled with cotton grass.
Folk tales crawling up from the granite of Dartmoor.
“There’s peat in the South West?” another asks as I share excitedly about what’s happening in the murky bogs this year.
Peat-Fest South-West is a celebration of our peatland, lost, surviving and yet to be restored. With our wonderful partners at Art and Energy, RE-PEAT are leading on the Youth Engagement across the festival. As someone who grew up in the South West the excitement of being able to take young people onto land that I love so dearly, and learn together about sphagnum burrowing into the wet, is palpable.
Often when folks think of the South West they think of holiday cottages and sandy beaches. But the tourist industry hides the brunt end of poverty many in the South West face. Due to high concentrations of inaccessible land some children in the countryside go outside less than in major cities where access to local parks is on their doorsteps.
Peat-Fest South-West is a chance for young folk who aren’t currently engaged in outdoor peat activities to meet peat at free events, get excited and create lasting connections with local restoration work.
Across our five locations; Dorset, Exmoor, Dartmoor, Bodmin and Somerset; our fantastic delivery partners are taking us to land they steward and then we will engage in creative workshops to connect with peat in new ways.
Find out more about RE-PEAT’s involvement with Peat-Fest South-West and learn more about our workshops for young people.
Rachael and Femi from RE-PEAT, have been out and about on the Dorset Heathlands and Mires organising a young person workshop with our Dorset region collaborators. Thanks to Dorset Wildlife Trust for the images of the day.
