An intact moor helps to protect the climate

The panoramic perspective shows a green meadow criss-crossed by small ditches and ringed by several rows of trees. Parts of the Ahlen-Falkenberg moor, located south-east of Cuxhaven, look like a green countryside idyll, but the landscape has, in fact, been destroyed. The vast expanse of land remained intact until the 1960s but has sunk by about two metres. If things go the way REWE and NABU intend, it will be returned to this state. And it would be best for this to happen as quickly as possible.

Frank Woesthoff, NABU’s moor expert, stands in the middle of the vast expanse covering 200 hectares. It’s the largest moor protection project on agricultural land in Europe, he says. And the financial strength of the NABU Climate Fund is absolutely essential. This is because NABU first had to acquire the land before it could be restored. When the weather is good, you can walk through the moor without getting your feet wet. Over the decades, ditches and drains have caused the original moor to dry up and shrink.

Restoration requires patience

There is still a lot of fertilizer in there. The plants in the moor don’t like it, explains Frank Woesthoff. That is because they need wet, acidic, and low-nutrient soil. The soil removed from the top layer will be used to build small embankments and fill the ditches. The underground clay pipes that transport water to the ditches are also gradually being demolished. These measures are intended to increase the water level on the surface again. In future, the moor will only receive water when it rains. Millions of cubic metres of water will be required. So restoring moors takes patience. The peat layer grows just one millimetre per year. But there is already a small amount of peat. Julia Krooß digs a bit in the molehills that have sprung up all over, and you can grab the peat that is still in the ground with your bare hands.

Frank Woesthoff estimates that it will take at least three to four years before this is the case over the entire area. By then, there will be less dense grassland than there is now, or none at all; instead, the moor will contain fauna that is natural to it: small mosses, giant sedges, bell heath, small varieties of orchids, which are important for wild bees, for example. This, too, is an important aspect of the restoration of moors that not only protects the climate, but also provides a home for many animal species.

As a large food retailer, we are aware of our responsibility to protect the climate. It is therefore very important to us that in addition to reducing emissions, we also voluntarily support climate protection projects both in Germany and in Europe as a whole. The NABU Climate Fund seal on our store-brand products, REWE Bio and REWE Beste Wahl (“Best Choice), also allows our customers to experience climate protection”, Nicola Tanaskovic, Head of Corporate Responsibility, says of the collaboration with long-time partner NABU.