Scottish Water has completed two pilot peatland restoration projects in the Uists - local crofters have praised the work for helping to open up new grazing lands and stabilising the moorland.

The projects were carried out in the Stoneybridge and Bayhead catchment areas by the publicly-owned utilities company and form part of a programme to restore around 600 hectares of peatland across Scotland.

The work involves reprofiling sharp peat faces which are often badly eroded and exposed to return the peatland to a more natural state where new vegetation can thrive, and which helps to hold water in the land.

This prevents peat and other organic matter being washed into the lochs serving the local water treatment works, as well as helping to capture carbon from the atmosphere - a key element of Scottish Water’s plans to reach net zero emissions by 2040.

John McClellan is one of the crofters who has grazing land in the Bayhead catchment. Local contractor MacAuley Askernish has now restored the peatlands surrounding the perimeter of the loch as far out as 75 metres.

John McClellan said:

“The crofters that are involved with it, we think it’s a fantastic thing. All these old peatbogs are sloped, and this work will bring new vegetation up - instead of having a face of peat there will be vegetation growing there.

“The moor was dormant for years and very difficult to go across with a quad so it is just going to make it a lot easier to work with. I think it is a fantastic scheme all together.”

Jared Stewart, from Scottish Water’s sustainable land management team, commented:

“These projects are part of a wider programme we have across the country including the Western Isles and further into the mainland which will make up around 600 hectares of total restoration that we will try and achieve.

“Functioning peatland, once you bring it back to near natural state, will then start to reverse its carbon loss and start capturing carbon. After a few years of post-restoration, it will also increase biodiversity and bring a host of other co-benefits along with it.”

He added: “Understanding peatland restoration is critical to what we do here. Most people are not aware that peatland is in such poor condition in Scotland and if we achieve more projects like this and can show year on year the benefits that it brings, then more people might be more engaged and undertake more peatland restoration.”