Recent Work

Glenullin Bog – Restoration evaluation report

Client: Ulster Wildlife
Location: Glenullin Bog Nature Reserve, Co. Londonderry
Phase 1 Restoration: 2020–21
Walkover: May 2025
Commission: Evaluate Phase 1, identify lessons, outline options for Phase 2.

Findings:

High bog: 16.1 km drains, some dams holding water but variable performance.
Marginal peatland fringe: degraded, drying, Molinia-dominated.
Peat depths: 3–5 m in bog; 0.5–1.3 m in margins.

Recommendations based on our review:

Design bunds with overspills to increase resilience.
Need engineered overspills to avoid overtopping.
Oxidised hydrophobic peat requires focused treatment.
Experienced contractors and PCoW improve outcomes.

Options:

Do Nothing / Natural transition.
Targeted drain blocking and bunding (~£53k ex VAT).
Sit-specific measures.

Value delivered:
Cost-sensitive decision support, practical specs, monitoring design.

Goatfell, Isle of Arran – Herbivore Impact Assessment

Client: National Trust for Scotland (NTS)
Location: Goatfell Estate, Isle of Arran
Habitats Surveyed: Blanket Bog; Wet & Dry Dwarf-Shrub Heath; Wind-Clipped Summit Heath; Flushes
Plots Completed: 130 Herbivore Impact Assessment (HIA) plots
Purpose: Quantify Red Deer grazing & trampling pressure to inform ongoing land management.

Key findings:

Overall herbivore pressure low across most plots.
Moderate localised pressure in heath habitats.
Trend data: 91.5% low, 7% moderate, 1.5% high.
Red deer dominant; no cattle or sheep recorded.
Enclosures showed less browsing pressure
Target Flush habitats to gain an understanding of browsing pressure

Recommendations:

Extend monitoring coverage.
Validate fencing and consider extensions.
Re-survey temporally in relation to peatland restoration plans.
Adaptive deer management.
Repeat HIA every 3–5 years.

Value delivered:
Independent baseline dataset and practical insights.

Muirhall Windfarm – Access Track & Drainage Review

Client: Muirhall Energy Ltd
Location: Stallashaw Moss, South Lanarkshire
Walkover: August 2025
Commission: Assess track flooding issues, review interaction with peatland restoration, and provide drainage recommendations.

Findings:

Track flooding linked to raised water table from peatland restoration (HMP).
Floating track over deep peat showing subsidence, ponding, rutting, and loss of fines.
Culverts and drains blocked, buried, or silted; little evidence of formalised drainage.
Track often lies below surrounding re-wetted peatland, exacerbating flooding.

Peatland Context:

Site located on former raised bog at Stallashaw Moss.
Restoration measures (ditch blocking, ground smoothing, stump flipping) successfully re-wetting peatland, raising water table.
Restoration success is part of a Habitat Management Plan and is conflicting with infrastructure access needs.

Recommendations:

Design and implement formalised drainage (swales, cut-off drains, re-sized culverts).
Import aggregate to raise track levels above adjacent water table where feasible.
Establish silt control and routine bi-annual inspections.
Where drains must be unblocked, offset HMP losses through compensatory restoration elsewhere.

Monitoring:

Install water level loggers near across the site, targeting problem areas before conducting maintenance work.
Record rainfall events alongside logger data.
Bi-annual inspection of track subsidence, drainage, and silt traps.

Value delivered:

Balanced solutions recognising peatland restoration objectives and operational access requirements.
Clear, phased drainage and monitoring strategy to reduce recurrent flooding risk.
Practical, evidence-based recommendations integrating hydrology, peatland science, and engineering.

Carrick Castle – Peat Depth & Condition Survey

Client: Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
Location: Carrick Castle Estate, Argyll
Survey: September 2025
Commission: Assess peat depth and peatland condition across a proposed restoration area to inform feasibility across a 330 Ha site

Findings:

Peat depths variable, typically 1.0–2.0 m with deeper pockets >2.5 m in hollows.
Peatland condition was generally good: frequent sphagnum, intact hydrology, only infrequent erosion features.
The majority of points categorised as Near Natural under the Peatland Code.
Access to and on the site was very difficult due to steep slopes, large rocky outcrops, surface water flows and long vegetation, which constrained survey and would constrain restoration works.

Peatland Context:

The area represents functioning blanket bog with strong ecological integrity.
High proportion of intact hydrological function and good vegetation cover suggest the site is delivering carbon sequstration and biodiversity benefits.
The physical setting (steep rocky ground, high rainfall) limits both restoration need and restoration feasibility.

Recommendations:

No large-scale restoration interventions advised due to the site’s good condition and difficult access – Small areas of the survey area could be targetted if concluded as feasible.
Protect existing peatland condition through monitoring and careful land management.
Direct restoration efforts to more degraded peatland elsewhere in the National Park where ecological uplift would be greater.

Value delivered:

Provided robust, field-based evidence for LLTNPA confirming low restoration need at Carrick Castle.
Quantitative dataset (330 probe points with peat depth and condition categorisation) supports transparent decision-making.
Helped target restoration resources to higher-priority degraded areas, maximising carbon and habitat benefits.