Roots & Reeds

In this course, Roots & Reeds: Farming for Food, Fibre, and a Wetter Future, you will hear directly from two leading wetland practitioners, each offering field-tested insight into the practical realities of paludiculture and sustainable wetland management at farm scale.

Richard Starling — a working reed cutter from the Norfolk Broads — shares deep knowledge of the UK reed and sedge market, sustainable cutting practices, and the logistical realities of harvesting in remote wetland terrain. Aldert van Weeren — a paludiculture innovator from the Netherlands — offers a European perspective on rehydrating peat at scale, from trialling cattail, cranberries, willow, and reed on rewetted Dutch peatlands to the crop processing, drying infrastructure, and water management solutions that make wet peat soils productive.

Through recorded on-farm training sessions delivered as part of the Peatlands for Prosperity programme, this course will guide you through:

• The UK reed and sedge market, harvesting methods, and the future of thatching as a sustainable industry
• How paludiculture crops are being trialled and scaled on rewetted peatlands in the Netherlands
• Innovative approaches to crop processing, drying, and water management on wet peat soils
• The machinery and infrastructure solutions making wetland harvesting viable at farm scale
• The policy, funding, and market landscapes shaping the future of paludiculture across Europe

Whether you are a farmer, land manager, conservationist, or researcher, this course delivers honest, grounded insight into where paludiculture and wetland harvesting stand today — the opportunities, the obstacles, and what comes next.

Funding & Acknowledgements

The webinars and on-farm training workshops recorded and delivered through Udemy are made possible through public funding and partnership support. This funding allows Green Restoration Ireland to provide independent, science-based education to farmers, land managers, and the wider public at no cost.

Peatlands for Prosperity is co-funded by the EU Just Transition Programme and the Irish Government.
Farm Carbon projects are co-funded by the European Union and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

These partnerships ensure that practical, evidence-based information on restoration, carbon farming, and sustainable land management remains accessible to all.