Recently, the South Coast NRM team joined the PEAT Southwest Stakeholder Reference Group for a fantastic (and very wet!) field trip exploring peatland sites in the Walpole region.
Not sure what peatlands are? These ancient and highly specialised wetland ecosystems provide important habitat for unique and threatened species, possess significant geological, hydrological and biological features, and act as valuable carbon stores.
The field trip formed part of the PEAT Southwest project, an exciting initiative co-led by The University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University to improve knowledge of, and address threats to, peatland ecosystems across southwestern Australia. South Coast NRM is proud to be collaborating on the project by helping identify peatlands across the South Coast region and supporting on-ground actions to protect and restore these important ecosystems.
Over the course of the day, the group visited four peatland sites in varying condition and heard from researchers, land managers, Aboriginal corporations and other conservation practitioners about the remarkable biodiversity and geodiversity these systems support, the threats they face, and opportunities for improved management and restoration. Field days like this provide a valuable opportunity to share knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and support collaborative efforts to conserve these unique and important ecosystems across south-western Australia.
The PEAT Southwest project is proudly supported by Lotterywest, the Ian Potter Foundation, The University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University, with additional contributions from Jane Fenwick, the Australian Amphibian and Reptile Genomics Initiative, the Australia and Pacific Science Foundation, Wettenhall Environment Trust and the Australian Academy of Science.
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