

We're transforming farmland into a biodiversity paradise
For thousands of years, Europe’s peatlands quietly did their job: absorbing carbon, holding water, and sustaining ecosystems. These unique wetland landscapes form in waterlogged areas where oxygen can’t reach dead plant matter. Instead of decomposing, layer upon layer of vegetation accumulates over centuries and becomes peat. Peatlands are incredibly effective carbon sinks because the carbon they absorb in their lifetime never escapes. In fact, even though they cover just 3% of the world’s land surface, peatlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests combined.
The mission
Over the last century, more than 80% of Europe’s wetlands were drained to make the land more farmable. Through long, straight drainage ditches, excess water is channeled into streams, draining the land completely. In Belgium’s Black Creek Valley alone, over 1,000 kilometers of ditches were dug, drying out the ancient peat and releasing carbon into the atmosphere. What took thousands of years to form was undone in a single human lifetime. That’s why we teamed up with EcoTree and Natuurpunt to restore this essential ecosystem.



But this mission was different. For the first time ever, we brought the Planet Wild community with us into the field to help us fill the ditches and bring water back to these wetlands. In addition, we funded the felling of non-native trees, removal of invasive saplingsand fast-growing grasses, and monitoring for 5 years. With the water returning, oxygen disappears, decomposition stops, and carbon stays locked safely underground. Thanks to the contributions of the Planet Wild community, we restored seven hectares of peatlands, and nature is already responding. Water clover is sprouting, beavers are back building dams, and cranes have returned to nest.
What we achieved
Ideal outcome
Our Partner
Louise Bouchardy is a biodiversity expert with a track record across land, rivers, and sea. With a background in ecology, she’s worked on a variety of projects, from river conservation in Scotland to marine biodiversity research in the Mediterranean. For the past four years, she’s been part of EcoTree, where she leads biodiversity diagnostics and restoration planning across their forest sites in France.
Our Partner

Louise Bouchardy is a biodiversity expert with a track record across land, rivers, and sea. With a background in ecology, she’s worked on a variety of projects, from river conservation in Scotland to marine biodiversity research in the Mediterranean. For the past four years, she’s been part of EcoTree, where she leads biodiversity diagnostics and restoration planning across their forest sites in France.
