I was lucky to witness the harvesting of Typha Latifolia (bulrushes), a moment of celebration for everyone involved in an innovative project designed to take Typha seedheads and turn them into a lovely soft material to use as filling for outdoor clothing. 

All this was taking place at Goose Meadow Farm in West Lancashire with your Lancashire Wildlife Trust Peatlands team, farmers Cam and Lisa Edwards and Findlay, Austin and colleagues from Ponda, the eco-textile experts.

We gathered at the farm and were welcomed by Cam and Lisa who led us to the harvest site, where Lisa gave us some information on their part in the project.  They had thought long and hard with what to do with a particular part of their land, which was very wet throughout the year as the surrounding land drained into it as a sink. It had proved unsuitable to grow wheat and then silage, yet as farmers, it was vital to make use of every hectare. What to do?

The idea of wetter farming, or paludiculture has been growing in interest in recent years. Your Wildlife Trust’s involvement with trials began in 2023, with the work with Goose Meadow Farm beginning a year later. 

The first stage was to build bunds around the field. These are walls of compressed peat which form a waterproof barrier to stop water draining away, and hence raise the water table. These were visible on site, along with other ditches and land drains which are used to control the water level. 

It was interesting to note the bridges which crossed the land drains were quite high above the level of the ground, showing how much other parts of the land had shrunk back over the years, as the peat has dried out. 

The Typha patch itself was damp, despite the recent hot weather. As the tractor went by the ground shuddered slightly, showing the peat under our feet was still wet, despite so little rain this summer.

Once the trial area had been re-wetted, Cam had to sow the Typha seed, and here his inventive nature shone through.  The seed was sown using a drone, and parts from a coffee grinder.

Typha seed has a somewhat sensitive finicky nature…liking the ground conditions to be just right – not too wet, and not too dry. But with a bit of trial and error, germination was good.  The small plants then had another threat to contend with – grazing Canada geese, looking for something to sustain them over winter. This left a fair few gaps, which Cam has re-sown over last winter, and the experience has helped the team gain knowledge for future sowings.

The main section of the plot has done well over the last 18 months and is a flourishing crop, thanks to some extra nutrients provided by the water treatment plant.  It was lovely to see the brown seedheads waving in the breeze before Cam fired up his harvester. 

The creation of the “Typhenator “ is a story in itself, a true testimony to Cam’s spirit of invention and adventure.  It was amazing to watch the cutting bars cutting the heads of the bulrushes at just the right height. The bulrushes, and bits of leaf then went along the conveyor belt to land in the potato boxes. Poetry in motion.

Helen Earnshaw, your Wildlife trust’s Peatland project manager, explained that the potato boxes would make their way back to the barn where the team would sort the contents, removing all leaf matter. This is then put back onto the land as a mulch. 

The role of your Wildlife Trust continues in managing the water levels and taking regular measurements of any greenhouse gases which are being released and any effects on biodiversity. Did I mention we saw a beautiful hare nearby? 

For the next stage in the chain, the seedheads are opened and the fluff is separated from the tiny seeds within.  Ponda keep the seeds to be re-sown in due course.  The final magic happens in the Ponda laboratory in Bristol, turning the fluff into the plant-based jacket filling, so much more sustainable than synthetic fillers. 

I must end with some thankyous to Cam and Lisa for their hospitality (and delicious flapjack), to Helen for the lifts and being a fount of information and to the Ponda team for letting me try on their jacket. It was a brilliant morning.

All the work your Wildlife Trust had put in to keep and retain water in the particularly difficult circumstances this summer, was vital to the success of the crop and to see the team collaborating with farmers and businesses is inspiring. 

As a supporter of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, it is really good to know that support helps such innovative use of land and the production of a sustainable crop that might well revolutionise outdoor clothing..…..Wow!