‘The start of the healing process’: the vital work to restore Britain’s peatlands

A project on Dartmoor to reprofile the landscape aims to return the springy bog – and carbon store – to its natural condition At one of the most remote spots in southern England, Al West skilfully tilts and rotates the bucket of a small digger, like a giant mechanical hand. He lifts turf, and pats it down gently on to the rich, dark brown peat beneath. Above him, the granite stack of Fur Tor looms above the vast, boggy, wild expanse of northern Dartmoor. It is repetitive, delicate work, which...

By Sandra Laville