The Boggarts — a group of writers and artists united by a love of moorland (especially Walshaw Moor in West Yorkshire) — are currently crowdfunding their anthology Give Peat A Chance: a book of bogs. The project’s aim is to build a wider connection with the moors and bogs of Walshaw Moor and similar ecologies across the UK — based on a belief that a connection with land and the life it harbours  increases our capacity to care for that land.

This anthology will be published collaboratively by Little Toller and Bluemoose Books in September 2025. It includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry from some of UK’s leading writers, among them many Caught by the River contributors — including Amy Liptrot, Horatio Clare, Nicola Chester, Guy Shrubsole, Pascale Petit, Michael Malay, Polly Atkin and Alys Fowler — as well as other established and emerging writers. It combines creativity and a deep love of place with scientific, historical and cultural perspectives. Expect ecology and mythology, poetry, birds and sundew; the Brontës and other literary characters; alongside personal encounters with moorland and bogs across the UK and beyond.

Often viewed as wasteland, moors and bogs play a crucial role in ensuring biodiversity and protecting us from climate change. Although 80% of the UK’s peatlands have been drained, stripped or otherwise damaged, they still contain over three billion tonnes of carbon — more than all the forests of the UK, France and Germany combined (ONS 2019).

Walshaw Moor is currently the proposed site for England’s biggest onshore wind farm. This proposal is opposed by the RSPB, National Trust, CPRE and other major national ecological organisations because of the widespread damage it will cause to peatland and the creatures who live there. Other organisations are concerned about increased flood risk, and Walshaw Moor’s rich cultural heritage.

As our need for renewable energy becomes ever more urgent, the Boggarts believe that it’s equally urgent to increase our understanding of this important landscape, and to bring greater awareness into this vital, contentious debate.

Whilst the writers, the publishers and the Boggarts are working for free, they need to raise £12,000 to cover the printing and production costs of the book. The anthology is 72% funded with two weeks to go. Hear more about it below. Contribute to the crowdfunder here.