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World Wetland Day

A Year in Peatlands

2 February 2026  To mark International Wetlands Day on 2 February, the Greifswald Moor Centre is announcing a new series of events: ‘A Year in Peatlands’. Every month, an excursion will give interested parties the opportunity to explore the diverse peatland landscape in and around Greifswald and in Vorpommern.

In summer, participants can experience individual topics such as biodiversity, history of use and paludiculture in the field. In the winter months, participants can keep warm while working or sit in the cosy peatland library.

Here are the upcoming dates:
On 7 February, it's time to get stuck in at Mannhagen Moor. Together, we will clear young trees from the peatland to protect rare species. Hot soup will be provided during the lunch break.
On 16 March, the excursion will take us to the ‘treasure on the coast’, the Drammendorf polder on Rügen, with lots of information about renaturation and current research in this coastal peatland.
On 25 April, we will see whether peatland protection and use can be combined. The Bargischow Süd polder is being converted to wet cultivation (paludiculture).
On 9 May, we will experience the sound of a coastal flood peatland while observing breeding birds on the Karrendorfer Wiesen. In addition to fascinating bird calls, participants will learn all about the history of use and nature conservation measures in the area.

Whether natural, utilised, degraded or rewetted – the excursions take place in areas with very different conditions and functions. They are open to anyone interested, are free of charge, but require online registration.
All information here: A Year in Peatlands – Greifswald Moor Centre

Background: World Wetlands Day

Since 1997, World Wetlands Day (WWD) has been held annually on 2 February to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands, including peatlands. On 2 February 1971, the Ramsar Convention, the international agreement on the protection of wetlands, was adopted. Since 2021, it has been recognised as an international day by the United Nations. Pollution, drainage and agriculture, fires and overfishing have threatened or already destroyed wetlands, including peatlands, worldwide. Yet they are guarantors of biodiversity and climate protection. Among other things, they offer people protection against drought and flooding, purify water and regulate the microclimate. In Germany, 95% of the former peatlands have been drained and are no longer recognisable as such today.

Well peaty & spongy

Expert forum at the Future Forum on Rural Development at Green Week

19/01/2026  How can water be retained in the landscape? This is the topic of the expert forum on sponge landscapes and paludiculture on 21 January at Green Week. Water is key to making agricultural landscapes resilient to the effects of the climate crisis. The forum will provide best practice examples of how agriculture, nature conservation and local authorities can achieve this through water meadows, controllable drainage, agroforestry systems, humus formation or peatland rewetting and paludiculture. The speakers Corinna Friedrich and Thomas Köhler (DVL), Josef Sedlmeier (Regensburg Landscape Conservation Association) and Dr Franziska Tanneberger (co-director of the Greifswald Moor Centrum) will also discuss the framework conditions and transferability of practical experience to other regions.

The expert forum will take place from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Room A6 in the City Cube and can also be followed via livestream. It is organised by the German Association for Landscape Conservation (DVL) in cooperation with the Greifswald Mire Centre.

From Peatland to market

LCA for paludiculture – how does it work?

Greifswald, 7 January 2026 Clemens Kleinspehn is working at the University of Greifswald on the PaludiAllianz project to calculate the environmental impact over the entire life cycle – a so-called Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) – for a paludiculture product. His focus: the OTTO Group's shipping carton, which consists of 10% biomass from wet moors.

In the latest Paludiculture interview, he explains that this primarily provides the basis for the economic competitiveness of paludiculture products. The challenge here is that international life cycle assessment databases currently lack data on paludiculture products. Clemens Kleinspehn not only shows how the project closes these data gaps, but also which competing products may provide an orientation and which impact categories, such as water and energy consumption, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions, it focuses on. He also addresses the importance of LCA transparency, as there are no binding standards.

The LCA is not only intended to provide scientific findings, but mainly to offer companies and interested consumers a sound basis for decision-making. ‘Climate balances are an important purchasing criterion today,’ emphasises Kleinspehn. ‘Our results will be published so that producers and interested parties can better evaluate paludiculture products.’ The analysis is expected to be completed in six months.

We wish you rewetted peatlands...

🎵 ...and a Happy New Year!

22/12/2025  This is our peatland twist on the classic Christmas jingle. We send it to all peatland lovers and hope for it to become as true as possible in 2026.
As 2025 comes to a close, we want to thank all our friends, followers, and partners for your support of the Greifswald Mire Centre. Together, we’ve made strides in peatland protection, research, and advocacy. Here’s to even more impactful collaborations and dedicated peatland action in 2026! ✨