Hello. My name is Kerry and I’m delighted to say that I’m the new Peatland Connections Project Officer. Making connections is something I am passionate about. I love having conversations with people: listening to what others have to say and hearing about different experiences. Talking and listening to one another helps us understand the world from different perspectives and see things in new ways.
Nature fascinates me. I am an artist, and since graduating from art school, all of my artwork has been about nature and how we connect to it. I am irresistibly drawn to landscapes and species like bogs and mosquitos and mucky natural cycles like rotting and decay. Where others may see ugliness, nuisance, or negative impacts, I see interconnected cycles of life, and as such, I see a beauty and value that can often be overlooked or misunderstood.
Until recent years, peat landscapes were overlooked and their benefits for carbon capture and flood mitigation were largely undervalued. Peatland habitats and their unique biodiversity were also largely undervalued. As a result we failed to protect so many of them. However, it is now known just how valuable they are and time and energy is being invested into restoring large swathes of peatland across the UK and here in the SW of Scotland. As Peatland Connections Project Officer, I have joined the Crichton Carbon Centre Team who are dedicated to restoring our peatlands. Collectively, we are a team of individuals passionate about peat, soil, moss, and biodiversity and we each have our own specialisms and passions for nature.
Peatland Connections is all about connecting people to peatlands and supporting a deeper understanding of these precious landscapes, many of which are beyond our sight or our experiences as they are places that can be challenging to reach. David Attenborough famously said:
“No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
Because not everyone can access peatlands, Peatland Connections will bring peatland to you in creative ways. Working with artists, in collaboration with the CCC team, the wonders and beauty peatland habitats will expressed in ways that will help us connect to the universal value of peatlands, and foster care.
For some, peatlands may not seem the most attractive of places. We feel differently. They are awesome.
Passionate about these soggy, 'squadgy', landscapes and the life they support, over the next 18 months, Peatland Connections will be organising excursions to peatland habitats across Galloway offering ‘being on a bog’ experiences accompanied by different seasonal talks from experts in the field. All of our upcoming events will be posted here and on Peatland Connections Facebook and Twitter.
I am really excited to have been offered such a privileged position and I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues and making new peatland connections.
If you’d would like to know a little bit more about me, please head to Welcoming Kerry on the CCC website.