Natural England has launched the first round of grants to help support new projects which seek to restore peatland systems to a healthy state.
Through the scheme, the government intends to invest over £50m in peat restoration and has pledged to restore approximately 35,000ha of peatland in England.
Accompanying the main restoration grants, the discovery grants are available for organisations to scope and develop sites for peatland restoration.
As England’s largest carbon store on land, peatlands play a vital role in trapping carbon, and also provide benefits such as improved ecosystems and biodiversity.
However, only 13% of England’s peatlands are in a near natural state. The discovery grants provide applicants, such as farmers and landowners, with the opportunity to receive funds to develop restoration proposals.
There will be two rounds of bidding, with applications for the first round of discovery grants closing on 1 September.
Applications for the Discovery Grant funding may include developing new peat partnerships and projects and engaging new partners or landowners, and building capacity and capability in emerging peat partnerships.
Defra environment minister, Rebecca Pow said: “The launch of the peatland discovery grant will empower organisations to create their own peat restoration projects.
"We have recently committed to triple our historic average annual peat restoration figures and this grant which we are launching today will be critical in enabling projects to reach a stage where they can apply for our restoration grants in future.”
Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper, added: “Our new grant is a vital foot-up, enabling partnerships to develop more ambitious and extensive proposals to restore the integrity and quality of peat systems."
