A project which has been restoring vast areas of damaged peatland in Caithness and Sutherland will be celebrated in Inverness next month.
The Peatlands Partnership will host a one-day conference focusing on the conservation achievements of The Flows to the Future Project and looking forward to the future of the Flow Country.
The conference takes place in Eden Court Theatre in the Highland capital on September 12.
The Flows to the Future Project has been a five-year National Lottery Heritage funded initiative and is due to come to an end in September this year.
The project, initiated by the Peatlands Partnership with RSPB Scotland as lead partner, has been raising awareness of the Flow Country locally, nationally and internationally.
Blanket bog in good condition is an essential habitat in the face of global climate change storing carbon in the peat and so preventing it from being released into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.
To understand just how important the Flow Country is, in terms of militating against global climate change, the amount of carbon locked up in the peat of the Flow Country is five times more than in all the forests in Scotland.
Notable successes in raising awareness of the Flow Country and its global importance have been the creation of The Flows Lookout – an award-winning viewing tower at Forsinard Flows National Nature Reserve, a five-year programme of schools and community activities, and a novel and exciting arts installation at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, currently on during this year’s Festival Fringe.
The conference will not only take stock of the Flows to the Future Project’s achievements and the challenges faced along the way, but it will look to the future of the Flow Country as a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Speakers include a range of experts in their field such as Professor Des Thompson, Principal Advisor on Biodiversity at Scottish Natural Heritage, Dr Roxane Andersen Senior Research Fellow at Environmental Research Institute and Hanna Imlach, a sculptor informed by environmental research.
A field trip to Forsinard Flows National Nature Reserve is to take place the day before the conference.