A woolly solution to NI's peatland problems?

A unique pilot project in the Antrim hills could give sheep farmers a new market for their wool and help transform peatland conservation.

Traditionally, logs made of coir - coconut husk - have been imported from South-East Asia to reduce erosion, hold back water and also re-wet degraded peatland.

Now, logs made of local wool are being tested as an "exciting" alternative, said Stephanie Clokey from the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU).

James Devenney from Ulster Wildlife, which is partnering with the UFU, said hopes are high the logs can deliver a "more local, sustainable and renewable option" that will still be effective in restoring Northern Ireland's highly-degraded peatlands.

Cutting carbon in conservation

When they are in a healthy state, they play an important role in tackling climate change, locking carbon away in their depths.

But the majority - 86% - are in a degraded condition, meaning they emit rather than store carbon.

But so far, that conservation can come at a carbon cost.

As the peatlands restoration manager with Ulster Wildlife, Devenney said the time has come to look for alternatives to imported coir logs.

"Coir is a by-product of coconut. It's a material found in coconut husks and it is imported from Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia.

"And we have been bringing it overseas here which obviously has a significant cost but also importantly a significant carbon footprint.

"So we're looking for a more local, sustainable and renewable option but we can still be effective in delivering peatland restoration in Northern Ireland."

Stephanie Clokey, who is the peatlands officer at the UFU is hopeful the project will be a "win-win" for farmers and the environment.

"We've seen really low prices for wool, in some cases not even getting the price to shear them.

"So what we're hoping is, long-term, that there'll be potentially a new market and to put to good use something that has been treated in the past as a waste product, but we see as a very valuable resource.

"And it was a great example of collaboration and the successes you can have between farmers and peatland management."

It contains 26 actions aimed at restoring Northern Ireland's semi-natural peatlands to functioning ecosystems by 2040, but highlights that "significant financial resources" will be needed.

The logs are large, soft, wool-filled tubes.

Clokey describes them as massive draft excluders.

"There's a woven wool textile on the outside. with fleece packed on the inside. And in the core there's a solid wool rope just to sort of keep the structure to stop it sagging down when we put it in place.

"They're not too heavy, but they were tricky enough to get up the hill."

At one-and-a-half stone (9-10kg) each, they still weigh less than the seven stone (45kg) coir logs they have replaced.

In all, almost 60 of the logs were placed on Slievenanee in the Antrim Hills on a wintry day in February, with the help of local farmers and landowners.

Devenney is "hopping" with excitement about the work.

"This area is designated for particular raptors such as the hen harrier and merlin birds of prey.

"Other peatland species that we are striving to protect - they're all endangered, they're all under significant threat - are curlews, your breeding waders, your priority butterflies, like your large heath and your green hairstreak, marsh fritillary butterflies, even down to the common lizard that you'll find across the mountain here.

"So yes, peatlands are really unique habitats and they're really special to the island of Ireland."

The logs are now being monitored to assess their effectiveness in restoring the peatland.