A pilot in the Antrim Hills is testing wool-filled logs as a lower-carbon, local alternative to imported coir used to restore degraded peatlands.
Wool-filled logs made from local fleece are being tested in the Antrim Hills as a possible alternative to imported coconut-husk materials used to restore damaged peatlands.
The pilot, involving the Ulster Farmers’ Union and Ulster Wildlife, could create a new use for wool while addressing one of the tensions in conservation work: restoring peatland can itself carry a carbon cost when materials are shipped long distances.
Peatlands cover about 12% of Northern Ireland and are internationally significant. In good condition, they store carbon; when degraded, they release it. The BBC reported that 86% of Northern Ireland’s peatlands are degraded, making restoration a major environmental priority.
Conservation projects have traditionally used coir logs, made from coconut husk and imported from South East Asia, to reduce erosion, hold back water and help re-wet damaged peat. James Devenney, peatlands restoration manager with Ulster Wildlife, said the aim is to find “a more local, sustainable and renewable option” that can still deliver effective restoration in Northern Ireland.
Stephanie Clokey, peatlands officer at the Ulster Farmers’ Union, described the wool logs as an “exciting” alternative and said the project could become a “win-win” for farmers and the environment. Wool prices have been low, she said, with some farmers not recouping the cost of shearing.
The logs are large wool-filled tubes, with a woven wool textile outside, fleece inside and a wool rope core to help keep their shape. Clokey likened them to oversized draught excluders.
Nearly 60 wool logs were placed on Slievenanee in the Antrim Hills in February with help from local farmers and landowners. Each weighs about one-and-a-half stone, or 9 to 10kg, compared with about seven stone, or 45kg, for the coir logs they are replacing.
The site is part of a landscape important for wildlife, including raptors such as hen harriers and merlins, as well as curlews, breeding waders, butterflies and common lizards, according to Ulster Wildlife’s account of the project.
The wool logs are now being monitored to see whether they can perform as well as coir in slowing erosion and helping degraded peatland recover. The results will matter beyond one hillside: Northern Ireland’s peatland strategy, launched last year by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, sets out 26 actions to restore semi-natural peatlands to functioning ecosystems by 2040, while warning that significant funding will be required.
Comments (0)