Eat Peat Pie for Peat’s Sake

An artist, an ecologist, and a chef have joined forces to create a local culinary delicacy, the Pendle Peat Pie, with a bite-sized environmental message.

Pendle Peat Pie is a novel interpretation of a Lancashire Friday night post pub staple – chips and curry sauce – highlighting local conservation efforts.

One-hundred orders of Peat Pie have been placed for delegates attending the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which takes place in Glasgow from 9-19 November, to help raise awareness of the importance of peat on our climate.

The creation of In-Situ artist, Kerry Morrison, with ecologist Sarah Robinson and local chef Andrew Dean, the pie aims to raise awareness of the global importance of Pendle’s precious peatlands in locking carbon and reducing flooding.

The tasty bid to connect local people with the peat uplands of Pendle combines South Asian staples with an East Lancashire favourite, chips and curry sauce. The basic ingredients comprise, dhal, chips and spinach or kale – to represent the three vital elements of a successful peat restoration project, sphagnum moss, coir dams and vigorous vegetation.

On September 25th, a group of 13 to 15-year-old volunteers from The Summit, will help artist Kerry Morrison hand out 200 seed bags, containing mixed grass and heather seed.

The Summit is an initiative led by the arts organisation, In-Situ, with the Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership. Over the past year, it has brought together culturally diverse young people from the two sides of Pendle Hill – Nelson/Colne and Clitheroe – to explore major issues that affect their generation, including ecology and climate change, identity and leadership.

Summit Project volunteers

The seed bags, designed by artist Kerry incorporate a smudge of peaty earth and Geotex fabric, used in peat restoration, which is manufactured in Pakistan.

Artist Kerry Morrison said: “The fact the fabric on our seed bags is from Pakistan, and a key ingredient in our Peat Pie is Dhal, is significant. The Pakistani community in Nelson are primarily from Gujarat and Jhelum, and the Dhal in the pie represents their food culture. We want to use food to unite and bring people together on this issue that affects us all – climate change.”

Inside the traditional pie crust case, the filling is a combination of velvety lentil Dhal and layered chips, topped with a layer of spinach.

The Dhal represents the peat, held in place by chips – which represent Coir Logs used in erosion protection. The spinach represents the fresh plant growth on the surface of the peat, topped with a miso glaze that shows the water contained by the peat.

The benefits of healthy peatlands are supported by robust climate science. The peat locks in new carbon and prevents existing carbon leaching into the rivers and the atmosphere by erosion. It also soaks up gallons of water – rather like a sponge – and slows water run-off to reduce flood risk downstream.

The Pendle Landscape Partnership has over the last three years conducted a series of peatland restoration works on the summit of Pendle Hill. In-SItu is working with Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership to connect people to the landscape through collaborative, innovative art projects with communities.

For media enquiries contact clair@causeuk.com M: 0753 194 8014

Photography credit Mark Sutcliffe, Salar Media.

About the Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership

The Pendle Hill landscape partnership is led by the Forest of Bowland AONB.

The partnership aims to:

1. restore, enhance and conserve the heritage and landscape of Pendle Hill
2. reconnect people with their past and their landscape

III. bring the two sides of the hill together to create a sustainable future for the environment, heritage and for visitors’ experience of Pendle Hill.

• The scheme was awarded a National Lottery grant of £1.8million by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in January 2018. These funds will be delivered from 2018-2022 and will be matched with a further £1m raised locally.
• The scheme is made up of a dozen projects which safeguard the area’s wildlife and heritage and improve people’s access to this popular countryside area. We will do this by providing opportunities for training and volunteering; by supporting research and devising creative and digital interpretation to inspire a new generation about our heritage; by restoring important landscape features, and by working with communities to re-tell the stories of radical Pendle people. The scheme will increase pride in this special place and raise aspirations amongst communities, and it will bring in new investment to support the environment and the economy.
• The Pendle Hill landscape partnership is supported by National Lottery players through the Heritage Fund and by the Forest of Bowland AONB. Partners include representatives of parish councils, the landowning and farming community, Pendle and Ribble Valley Borough Councils, Lancashire County Council, statutory bodies, tourism businesses and volunteers.
• Projects will be delivered by the AONB team, plus local delivery partners including In-Situ, the Dry Stone Walling Association, Mid Pennine Arts and Ribble Rivers Trust.
• The Pendle Hill LP covers 120 square kilometres, stretching from Gisburn down to Whalley, and from Clitheroe across to Nelson and Padiham.
• The Hill is well known as a beauty spot and is heavily visited by residents of the local towns: it is a perfect place for walking and cycling. The area’s heritage is dominated by the story of the Pendle Witches, but there are lots more stories to tell including the founding of the Quaker movement, non- conformists and radicals, Roman and Bronze Age settlers, medieval farming systems and early industrial developments. The network of dry-stone walls and hedgerows give the area a distinctive feel, and the landscape is also important for its wild moorland, rare birds and woodlands.
• For further information contact the LP Scheme Manager cathy.hopley@lancashire.gov.uk on 07891 537835 / 01200 420420
• Visit the project website at www.pendlehillproject.com  or visit our Facebook page ‘Pendle Hill Project’ for up-to-date news and views.