Special project helps restore and preserve Omagh nature site

A DEDICATED team of NI Water volunteers recently joined forces with Ulster Wildlife to support a vital peatland restoration project at An Creagan, outside Omagh.

This initiative aims to transform a former commercially harvested bog into the North’s first peatland restoration demonstration hub.

Over the next decade, 30 hectares of severely degraded peatland – equivalent to 74 football pitches – will be restored to enhance biodiversity, improve water quality, reduce flood risks, and combat climate change. NI Water volunteers played a crucial role by removing invasive conifer saplings, allowing native bog plants and mosses to recover.

This effort is part of NI Water’s ‘Cares Challenge’ project, one of Northern Ireland’s largest corporate volunteering schemes. Since its inception over a decade ago, more than 1,700 staff have contributed over 12,000 volunteer hours to 120 community projects.

Rose Kelly, Director of People and Learning at NI Water, highlighted the benefits.

“Our teams not only make a tangible difference to local projects but also gain a sense of fulfillment and team connection,” she said.