LEADER+ Funding the Rural Economy in Lomond and Rural Stirling

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Wildlife Trust have spent the last 15 years restoring the damage done to Flanders Moss by centuries of human intervention. After years of being ignored the Moss is now receiving considerable attention, making this an ideal time to reconnect people with it.

SNH aims to develop visitors access the Flanders Moss site, while also making sure that they can manage visitors so that they will not disturbe the very fragile peatland bog. To achieve their aims, they wished to set up a transnational project to improve their experiences and knowledge in "how the visitor experience can be maximised without detracting from or destroying the peatland bog itself".

This project will bring experts together from Lapland (Finland), Offaly (Republic of Ireland), and Brittany (France). All these areas contain significant peatland bogs with potential for being opened up to the public or improved in terms of the visitor experience. Each partner has a variety of expertise and experience, however none of them feel that they have an understanding of all the elements which need to be considered and explored when opening up a peatland bog site.

A series of training workshops will be run by each partner in the field they have the most experience in;
Each partner will pilot a practical project in order to put into practice the experiences and learning from the exchanges;
A best practise guide on managing access and interpretation in peatland bogs will be produced for all peatland reserve managers across Europe. It will encompass the findings and recommendations of the project;
A final information-dissemination event will be organised.

Case Study

Applicant

Project

Total project cost / Leader+ grant

Summary


	Case Study Case Study Index Applicant Scottish Natural Heritage Project Connecting with our Peatland Heritage Total project cost / Leader+ grant £132,700 / £51,700 Summary Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Wildlife Trust have spent the last 15 years restoring the damage done to Flanders Moss by centuries of human intervention. After years of being ignored the Moss is now receiving considerable attention, making this an ideal time to reconnect people with it. SNH aims to develop visitors access the Flanders Moss site, while also making sure that they can manage visitors so that they will not disturbe the very fragile peatland bog. To achieve their aims, they wished to set up a transnational project to improve their experiences and knowledge in "how the visitor experience can be maximised without detracting from or destroying the peatland bog itself". This project will bring experts together from Lapland (Finland), Offaly (Republic of Ireland), and Brittany (France). All these areas contain significant peatland bogs with potential for being opened up to the public or improved in terms of the visitor experience. Each partner has a variety of expertise and experience, however none of them feel that they have an understanding of all the elements which need to be considered and explored when opening up a peatland bog site. Funding for this project will allow the following to take place: A series of training workshops will be run by each partner in the field they have the most experience in; Each partner will pilot a practical project in order to put into practice the experiences and learning from the exchanges; A best practise guide on managing access and interpretation in peatland bogs will be produced for all peatland reserve managers across Europe. It will encompass the findings and recommendations of the project; A final information-dissemination event will be organised.

For more information contact ketteridgea@stirling.gov.uk or call 01786 443123