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The Scottish Wildlife Trust is working in
partnership with North
Lanarkshire Council and 29 other organisations to protect and
encourage wildlife and the environment in North Lanarkshire.
The Local Biodiversity Action Partnership
(LBAP) would like to
help the community by making them more aware of the environment
so that we can help protect our wildlife and the environment in
which
they live.
This month, LBAP are asking you to consider
the use of peat-free
alternatives in your garden as the peak gardening season is now
in
full swing.
This is the time when the main activities of growing,
sowing, potting
up and planting out are happening and is also the time when the
garden
centres and DIY stores will be stocking compost.
But what is compost ?
It's a growing medium, usually comprising an organic
or soil base, to
which plant nutrients have been added. It is also used to improve
and
mulch garden soils.
Traditionally compost would have been made
up on the spot by the
gardener mixing all of the ingredients with sterilised soil or loam
as the
bases. Modern day gardeners have come to rely on ready made up
compost instead.
The manufacture of this compost very big business
indeed and in
order to make the compost, the manufacturers either had to go
through the process of sterilising large quantities of soil or they
had
to find some other basic material that was weed and disease free--
that was peat.
Unique
Peat is the product of thousands
of years of accumulation of plant
material. It is found in places known as raised peat bogs. These
are
not the the large areas of peat found in the Highlands where people
traditionally cut peat for fuel. Raised peat bogs are found
in the
lowlands, including North Lanarkshire. They are very fragile places
with a unique community of plants and animals that do not live
anywhere else. They take thousands of years to form but can be
destroyed in a matter of years by the excavation of peat. So what
can
we do to help protect Raised Peat Bogs? In our gardens, we should
be making a switch from the use of peat and using alternatives.
Alternatives
Luckily there are alternatives.
These are made of some form of
waste organic material. Many of the DIY and garden centres now
stock "peat-free" alternatives and are usually clearly
labelled as such.
There are even "peat-free" grow bags. If you are not sure
what to use,
ask your garden centre specifically for "peat-free" compost.
Please remember that all peat
bogs are important and special places
for our wildlife. You could also make your own compost by recycling
your garden and household organic waste material in a garden compost
heap or bin. No garden should be without one. The material that
this
produces will make the best soil conditioner and mulch that you
can
get (it adds nutrients as well as bulk organic matter) and best
of all
it is free.
Remember peat is not some magic
material. It is purely the material
in which the plant grows. It does not have any special material
in it to
help plants - all of the nutrients required are added. Peat is not
a good material for mulching soil. The small particle size means
that once it
dries out on the soil surface it is liable to blow away. By going
peat-free,
you will not only be helping to produce a garden which is wildlife
friendly,
you will be helping wildlife in the rest of Scotland.
Competition
Why not try out peat-free compost
in your garden this month, courtesy
of LBAP ? There are 12 bags of peat-free multipurpose compost to
be
won in this month's competition. If you can correctly answer the
question below, your name will be put into the draw to win peat-free
compost for
your garden.
Q. In which part of Scotland are you most likely
to find a Raised Peat
Bog ?
Please send your answer on a
postcard remembering to include your
name and contact details, to Andrew Jones, Scottish Wildlife Trust,
Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre, Wood Street, Grangemouth, FK3 8HL.
Please note that all entries
must be received by Friday, May 31. 2002.
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