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FOR PEAT'S SAKE!

© Linda Little

What would you feel like if a large company decided to cut down sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park, turn them into charcoal and sell on the domestic market? Would the fact that "people need charcoal" be an adequate excuse for this sort of devastation of a wildlife area? No? Well, now you can see why I hate peat extractors.

The Scandal of Peat Extraction

96% of our actively growning primary raised bogs has disappeared since it was mapped by ordinance survey in 1850. Now a mere 5,300 hectares of primary lowland raised bogs remain in Britain. The Nature Conservancy Council state that this whole area qualifies for designation as Sites of Special Scientific Interest because it is a key wildlife habitat. Unfortunately, even such designation would be unlikely to protect it from the peat extractors.

The Peat Producers Association itself stated that 65% of the area worked by its members is designated SSSI. (PPA Press Release 12.3.91). Some extraction companies are far worse than others in this respect. Lord Moran reported to the House of Lords that 90% of Fisons' extractions take place on SSSIs.

In the case of one lowland bog - Fenns and Whixall Moss on the Shropshire/Clwyd border - the only way to save it from complete devastation was to 'buy it for the nation' at a cost of £1.5 million. Using peat extraction permissions granted in 1947, Croxdens Horticultural Ltd had proposed to extract 60,000 tonnes of peat per year from Fenns and Whixall Moss, a rate that would swiftly destroy it as one of the primary SSSIs in the country. Buying off peat extractors is currently the only mechanism for saving these sites. Unfortunately neither the NCC nor the local authorities, the only two bodies legally entitled to buy this land, have enough money to ensure the protection of tall these sites.

So what can you do?

You need to break the circle. Peat is sold in garden centres as potting medium. It is used by horticulturalists and gardeners alike because of its ability to retain and release water. There are many peat substitutes in gardening shops now, so do try these out, some of them are better than others.

Here are some other alternatives:

Pot Plant Medium: Those making their own potting compost could use hops (spent), leafmold, straw-based composts and vermiculture.

Grow Bags: Make your own grow bags, too, using garden compost, leafmould or vermicompost.

Hanging Baskets: Rather than using peat with lined with possibly illegally collected spagnum moss you can use the same ingredients as the potting medium with added animal manure (seperated solids).To replace spagnum moss, use hessian, woven polypropylene sacking/mesh, woodfibre or cocofibre mat.

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