Locations
Fieldfisher launches its new #WeAreRootingForChange campaign.
On Friday 27th September, 11 volunteers from both Fieldfisher's Manchester and London offices came together to volunteer at Dove Stone in the Peak District alongside the RSPB to help restore vital swathes of peatland.
As part of the firm's Rooting for Change programme, which is focused on supporting community-based social and environmental projects worldwide, Fieldfisher donated £20,000 to The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to help restore the peatlands in Dove Stone. Peatlands are important for combating climate change because they have significant carbon capture capabilities. The waterlogged conditions in peat bogs stop plants from fully decomposing and, as a result, the carbon that would normally be released into the atmosphere stays trapped inside the peat, helping to slow rates of global heating.
Dove Stone is a site of international significance due to its large blanket bog that has been formed over the last 5,000 years. But sadly, in just the last 200 years, the area has suffered wide-scale degradation from burning, draining, overgrazing, and acid rain, resulting in vast areas of bare and eroded peat. Dove Stone is not alone, as 80% of the UK's peatland is currently in a poor condition. This is a key concern as eroded peat bogs release carbon back into the atmosphere, meaning rather than being a carbon capturer, they become a carbon source.
To help restore these peatlands, and as part of the firm's sustainability action in the community, the Fieldfisher team took to the hills of the Peak District to plant sphagnum moss in and around the peat bogs, with the help and guidance of the RSPB. Sphagnum moss is a critical component of peat bogs, holding up to 20 times its dry weight in water. By storing this water away, sphagnum prevents the decay of dead plant material, helping to form peat. Other benefits are increased resilience to fire and drought and increased biodiversity, water quality, and water quantity.
On the day, together with the RSPB site team, the Fieldfisher volunteers planted 75 large bags of Sphagnum, which is 1,875 plants. These will have a lasting impact on the natural landscape and its biodiversity and are already providing sanctuaries for birds such as Teal, Snipe, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Curlew and various amphibians – but the list of species will certainly grow in time.
While in the Peak District, the team also visited the specific project site in which Fieldfisher's £20,000 charitable donation has assisted the RSPB to protect and restore this unique ecological habitat. The team saw in-person what this grant has helped to create, including (some!) of the 7,000 sphagnum plugs and 435 newly-dammed pools that ensure the peat bogs here stay wet and healthy, allowing them to perform their vital climate mitigation work.
Planting sphagnum moss
Visiting the project site where Fieldfisher's charitable donation funded 435 newly-dammed pools
David Bowcock, Managing Partner of Fieldfisher's Manchester office said:
"The day at Dove Stone Nature Reserve was a real eye-opening experience about the impact of climate change and the damage done to a landscape thousands of years in the making. A fascinating day where a group of us were able to plant sphagnum moss and see Fieldfisher's contribution towards the multi-generational journey to restore the peatlands."
Kate Hanley, RSPB’s leading peatland expert said:
“Fieldfisher’s support has been brilliant for Dove Stone, and a lovely contribution to the ongoing blanket bog restoration works. The peat dams installed through this work are already full of water, keeping the peat wet and helping the sphagnum moss to grow. Wildlife has already colonised, and Teal have bred for the first time on Dove Stone, thanks to this work. It also contributes to Dove Stone’s role in addressing climate change by providing greater resilience against drought and fire. Best of all though was to meet the Fieldfisher team, and plant sphagnum with them! What a lovely bunch of people.”
Marcia Lewis, PA Development Manager and Lead PA at Fieldfisher said:
"The day in itself was really good. The enthusiasm of the staff was amazing. Their commitment and passion to the cause was infectious and made me look at the environment much more than I previously have. Planting sphagnum moss was in a nutshell hard work but it was satisfying in knowing that what we were doing was making a difference."
This project is just one of many operating across a vital, global network of programmes working to restore degraded peatlands. Peatland areas cover around 400 million hectares, distributed globally across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. With peatland storing around 30% of the world's carbon, it is critical that action is taken on both a local and global scale to promote the sustainable land use of peatland, protect ecosystems and their biodiversity, and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions from peatland degradation.
Through the Rooting for Change programme, Fieldfisher seeks to support environmental charities by supplementing their resources and assisting them to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises through protecting our natural environment.
The volunteering day marked the start of #WeAreRootingForChange, the new engagement campaign that aims to highlight our community partnerships and their work as environmental stewards worldwide. As part of #WeAreRootingForChange, our people, across Fieldfisher's offices worldwide, will have opportunities to collectively contribute to our shared sustainable purpose – such as, through volunteering to support organisations like the RSPB. We know there is much work to be done, but we believe that every single action matters. Together, we can play our part in making a world of difference.
To read more about the fantastic peatland restoration work of the RSPB at Dove Stone, please click here.