Peatlands and Uplands

Peatlands are some of the UK’s most precious landscapes — they store vast amounts of carbon, help control flooding, and provide homes for rare wildlife. But they’re delicate and easily damaged, and when they’re degraded they can release carbon and lose their natural resilience. At Marsden AES, we specialise in bringing these landscapes back to life, working with peat partnerships, National Parks and landowners across the country to fulfil their restoration plans.

What We Do

Rewetting and Water Management

Blocking drains, creating bunds, and restoring natural hydrology to hold water and reduce erosion.

Reprofiling and Stabilisation

Repairing eroded areas of bare peat and hagged edges, using techniques such as re-turving, bunding and brash spreading

Cottongrass and Sphagnum Planting

Restoring native plant communities to rebuild peat, improve biodiversity, and strengthen resilience

Sediment Trap Installation

Installing timber sediment traps, stone dams, heather bales, and coir rolls to stabilise peat and slow water flow

Remote Site Access

Using helicopters where machinery cannot reach, ensuring even the most challenging sites are restored.

Specialist Machinery

Employing low-ground-pressure diggers, tracked vehicles, and to protect sensitive terrain while working efficiently.

Why Choose Us

Peatland restoration is specialist, skilled work — the ground is soft, sensitive, and often remote. Our operatives know these landscapes inside out, combining ecological understanding with practical know-how. Using low-ground-pressure machinery and other specialist techniques, we can work safely without causing further damage, something conventional contractors simply can’t do.