Please sign the online Ban The Burn petition, if you haven’t already. 335 people already have, and we only need another 65 signatures. Then we will present the petition to Natural England and Defra.
This is what the petition asks:
BAN THE BURN ON BLANKET BOGS
TO: NATURAL ENGLAND, DEFRA SECRETARY OF STATE
Dear Natural England and Secretary of State for Defra,
Please ban heather burning and drainage ditches on blanket bogs, and stop loopholes in
the Heather and Grass Burning Code, and other relevant regulations and laws, that can be
used to create exemptions to the ban on burning and draining blanket bogs.
Why is this important?
Blanket bogs are a rare and important habitat, often in Sites of Special
Scientific Interest. They are important for biodiversity, supporting a wide range of
species; for hydrology and “soft” flood control; and as a natural carbon sink. Scientific
research shows that draining and burning them seriously reduces biodiversity; is likely
to increase runoff and flash flooding in rivers that they drain into during heavy
rainfall; and by increasing the amount of humic dissolved organic carbon flowing from the
peat into rivers, turns natural carbon sinks into carbon sources.