Peatland Restoration: A Guide for Crofting Communities
Peatlands cover about 20% of Scotland and store an estimated 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon, making them vital for sustainable climate action. In 2024, Dr Lydia Cole, a lecturer in the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, secured funding from St Andrews Interdisciplinary Research Support (STAIRS) to create a guide to help crofting communities engage in sustainable peatland restoration.
Collaborating with colleagues at St Andrews and the Community Landownership Network at the University of the Highlands, the team developed a comprehensive guide aimed at supporting crofting communities in restoring their peatlands in an equitable and sustainable way.
Titled Peatland Restoration: A Guide for Crofting Communities, the resource is freely available and helps rural communities in Scotland make informed decisions about peatland management and restoration. The content was gathered through field-based research conducted with crofting communities in 2023 and includes a detailed section on financial pathways for restoration. It also offers key insights on how to align peatland restoration with community priorities.
The guide serves as a benchmark resource for crofters, landowners, and public bodies, assisting them in community governance and decision-making regarding peatland restoration.
The team behind the project included Dr Cornelia Helmcke, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Centre for Energy Ethics; research assistant Ewan Jenkins; Dr Shona Russell and Dr Milinda Banerjee from the University of St Andrews; and Dr Bobby Macaulay, Coordinator of the Community Landownership Academic Network (UHI CLAN) at the University of the Highlands and Islands.