The Canalside, Marsh Lane, Bridgwater, Somerset. TA6 6LQ

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Day 1

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Welcome to the Somerset Levels: local context, challenges and opportunities 

Councillor Mike Stanton, Chair of Somerset Rivers Authority

 

Opportunities and Challenges – experiences in the Greater Sedgemoor landscape recovery project

Damon Bridge, Senior Project Manager, RSPB

 

Project Updates Ten minute presentations

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Developing a paludiculture emission factor

Katy Ross, Defra

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Farm level financial modelling of integrated paludiculture business models

Ashley Hardaker, Bangor University; Disni Gamaralalage, University of Nottingham and Jenny Rhymes, UKCEH.

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​The impacts of paludiculture on the natural environment: a scoping report

Nigel Taylor, University of Cambridge and Elizabeth Stockdale, Niab

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Water management – update on Permissions Guide

Andrea Kelly, Broads Authority

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Developing a spatial opportunity mapping tool

Andrea Kelly, Broads Authority

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Markets for paludiculture products

Katy Ross, Defra

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Challenges, opportunity and innovation

Julia Casperd, Harper Adams University

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Boggy bulrushes to Bio puff – update from the Northwest

Sarah Johnson, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside, and Mike Longden, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside

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Taking typha to scale on the Somerset Levels and Moors

Will Barnard, FWAGSW, and Anna Lantaff, FWAGSW

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From an initial carbon farm pilot through to growing food crops. Lessons learnt

Sarah Johnson, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside, and Mike Longden, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside

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​Practicalities of paludiculture in an intensive veg farming system

Megan Hudson, Fenland SOIL

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Supporting and evaluating paludi-agronomy

Kat Evans, RSK ADAS

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PEF student engagement program (sic)

Marcus Travers, Anglia Ruskin University

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Update on processing and market challenges - Ponda

​Finlay Duncan

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Sphagnum farming

Tim Parfitt, BeadaMoss

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Natural fibres and innovative pulping technology

Kate Lowes, Nafici Environmental Research Ltd

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Paludiculture materials for construction: A discussion between Andrea and Georgemma.

Andrea Kelly, Broads Authority, and Georgemma Hunt, Sustainability Research Institute, University of East London

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Day 2

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Workshops

The morning of the second day was a series of workshops looking to the future of paludiculture in England and how we work together to continue to grow the community. A summary of the activities is being prepared and will be published here later.

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• What is needed to best create impact for the work delivered within PEF? 

• What will be the major gaps in knowledge after PEF+? 

• In the Paludiculture Roadmap, the Advocacy and Facilitation pathway set out the actions to create partnerships and a paludiculture community as well as a wider awareness of paludiculture.It was put together before PEF and now is a good time to review it. What activities are needed? How should they be sequenced?

• The Lowland Peat Taskforce and regional groups, What would be their role going forward? 

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The afternoon was a tour of some of the sites of the Somerset levels and a very big thank-you to all of those involved to make it possible, enjoyable and informative.

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