20th February 2025
Balnagown’s Peatland Restoration Project Starts Second Phase
After a slight delay Balnagown Estate are pleased to announce that they will begin the second phase of its two and a half year Peatland Restoration Project. The work which is being carried out by Highland Conservation and managed by Caledonian Climate Partners will begin on the first week in March.
Aiming to restore over 50,000m of hags
This phase of the project, which is funded by both Balnagown and Peatland Action, aims to restore a total of 409 ha (1011 acres) on Invercassley in the northern part of the estate. The team aim to restore 50,334m of hags using hag reprofiling techniques, alongside 8,037m of gullies using gully reprofiling and blocking and 116,591m of artificial drains using wave dam or drain blocking techniques.
The bare peat area to be restored amounts to 1.83ha and contractors will restore these using a combination of surface and cell bunds and micro-erosion repair. Sphagnum will be transplanted by hand across the completed site.
The total forecasted carbon units (tCO@e) for phase 2 are estimated at 44,478. As an example the average mileage of a diesel car in the UK is about 10,000 miles the amount or carbon sequestered would be the equivalent of running 30,000 average diesel cars for a year.
I am very pleased with the work that has taken place and cannot thank Caledonian Climate Change and Highland Conservation enough. It is such important work, and we hope to see more and more landowners following suit.
Callum Paterson, Estate Manager
The site is divided into two adjacent phases: Phase 2 (Glen Muic), which primarily consists of artificial drains, and Phase 3 (Dalnaclave), which primarily consists of hag systems.
The aim is to complete works by Autumn 2027.
