Can we design growing media mixes to protect our peatlands?

Missed the webinar? Watch again below.

Thursday, 13 January 2022, 15:00–16:00 GMT

Peatlands are often referred to as “our national rainforest”; they perform many functions, including being our largest terrestrial carbon store, a haven for rare wildlife, a record of our past and a natural provider of water regulation. The England Peat Action Plan sets out how the UK government aims to reverse peatland decline to protect and enhance these landscapes to support net-zero carbon and biodiversity objectives.

This webinar will outline the benefits and values of peatland and will explore how we can restore it. As peat is of such importance in UK horticultural production, we will explain the work ADAS has been doing with many of the key industry organisations to remove peat from growing media and to enable the production of reliable and uniform non-peat alternatives.

Join ADAS, an RSK company, for a webinar exploring the challenges, opportunities and solutions for improving our peatlands and for finding suitable alternatives to peat in growing media.

Moderator

Lucy Sherriff, former Environment Editor, The Huffington Post

Lucy is a multimedia journalist and producer, focusing on environmental and social justice issues. Her work in multimedia and documentary journalism has earned her a number of accolades, including the Prince Albert II of Monaco United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) Award for climate change reporting in 2019. She was a Society of Environmental Journalists grantee in 2020. Lucy worked for The Huffington Post for six years, first as a reporter and then as an editor, before moving to the US where she now works as a freelance documentary producer and film-maker.

Speakers

Chris Forster Brown, Associate Technical Director, ADAS

Chris specialises in habitat management, the impact assessment of large renewable developments and policy reviews. He has a keen interest in botany and ornithology and has many years’ experience of British and Irish peatlands.

Dr Andrew Watson, Quantitative Horticultural Consultant, ADAS Horticulture

Andrew’s background is in theoretical physics. His career has revolved around data analysis and computation on topics including food stability, allergy and food authenticity. He became involved in data analysis for a DEFRA-backed sustainable peat alternatives project that ultimately brought him to ADAS and his work on designing novel substrates and carbon accounting.

Dr Jill England, Head of Horticulture, ADAS Horticulture

Jill is a plant physiologist and horticulture consultant with a focus on resource use, including plant nutrition and growing media and more specifically the reduction of peat use in growing media for the ornamentals sector.