Great North Bog
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The Great North Bog is a large restoration initiative covering over 90%[1] of the upland peatland in the North of England.[2] It is a £200m project and aims to restore nearly 7,000 square kilometres of upland over 20 years.[3] It is a partnership between the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership, Yorkshire Peat Partnership and the Moors for the Future Partnership.[4] The area covers five national parks — the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, Lake District and Northumberland.
Some of the peat is 8000 years old,[5] and it is thought that about half the peatland needs restoring, by work in the winter.[6] Much of these blanket bogs had been drained to graze sheep, this draining was subsidized in the 1950s and 1960s,[7] and raise grouse for shooting.[5] The land is currently managed by sheep farmers and landowners,[7] and is thought to be losing peat depth at 2.5 cm a year while regrowing at 1 cm per year.[7]