Provision of services for community engagement activities under the Shared Island Initiative Peatland Programme

Summary The National Parks and Wildlife Service via Wild Atlantic Nature LIFE IP, (with partners, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, and NatureScot), has secured funding under the Shared Island Initiative (details here) for a programme of peatland restoration in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The Shared Island Initiative Peatland Programme involves the development of lighthouse demonstration sites in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland to deliver practical peatland restoration, build capacity for long-term peatland management, undertake research and monitoring, exchange knowledge, and address socio-cultural issues across a range of restoration scenarios. These include the restoration of private and public lands, demonstration of restoration of erosion impacts, reactivation of drained peatlands, forest to bog restoration, control of alien invasives, addressing grazing pressures, improving community engagement and increasing education and awareness.

The programme is funded through the Irish Government’s Shared Island Initiative Fund (€10m) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (€5m) with additional funding from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and NatureScot, and through the contribution of direct personnel. The initiative is led by a partnership of LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature (WAN), National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and NatureScot, on behalf of Scotland’s Peatland ACTION Partnership. The initiative is overseen by a Steering Group.

This contract includes the design and delivery of a flagship community engagement project focusing on local communities living and working in or adjacent to blanket bog habitats in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The project will draw on the lived experience of local communities and their relationship with peatlands. It will provide a platform for local communities to present a staged narrative based on their own experience in conservation and habitat management.

The project will produce good practice guidance and recommendations for future community engagement.