Great Fen Wet Farming
Great Fen Wet Farming
Objectives of the project
The Great Fen undertook England’s first large scale paludiculture trials in a project called WaterWorks. The aim was to showcase the possibility of growing wetland species as wetland crops of the future. These included Common Reed and Bulrush for building materials, sweet manna grass for food, Sphagnum moss for peat replacement and a variety of highly novel crops for medicines, cut flowers and natural food flavourings. The project showed that these could be successfully grown at scale and gave new insight into the agricultural management of these crops on re-wetted agricultural peat soils.
Information on the project
- Conventional farming on peat soils uses drainage to keep the soil dry enough to farm. This is environmentally bad, as the drainage allows the carbon stored in peat soils to be converted into carbon dioxide. This means the soil literally disappears into thin air, loosing 1 to 3cm of soil every single year.
- Wet farming (paludiculture) puts the water back into peat soils. This locks in carbon, prevents peat loss, cleans water and supports wildlife.
- Field scale trials in Great Fen farm setting demonstrated new wet farming techniques and crops for industry, medicine, food and flavouring.
- Science based working with UKCEH and UEL.
- Wet farming in wider fen landscape could support wetlands and rural economy.
Project leads
Wildlife Trust BCN managed the project with academic input from UEL and UKCEH
Partners
The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, UEL, UKCEH and Cambridgeshire Acre. The project was funded by the Peoples Postcode Lottery initially and subsequently extended with funding by DEFRA, and the Co-op Carbon fund.