Togetherness celebrated through nature at Drumburgh Moss
"One metre of peat equals a thousand years." explained Kevin Scott, Reserves Warden. Time suddenly felt tangible beneath everyone’s feet.
On an overcast October morning, a collection of vehicles pulled away from Carlisle carrying nearly thirty people; families, students, adults, teenagers, and toddlers, heading out together into one of the Solway Coast’s most ancient landscapes.
The adventurous group walked side by side, bound not by a shared first language, but by curiosity and the promise of a day spent outdoors.
This was Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s contribution to Unity Festival: a Nature Day at Drumburgh Moss National Nature Reserve.
What unfolded was not just a visit to a bog, but a celebration of connection between people & place, past & future, and language & landscape.
A festival rooted in togetherness
Unity Festival has been part of Carlisle’s cultural calendar since 2016. It celebrates the strength and diversity of Cumbria’s communities, creating spaces where people from different backgrounds can meet, learn and share experiences.
This was the second year Cumbria Wildlife Trust partnered with the festival, responding to an interest from organisers in exploring how nature – particularly the blue and green spaces – can support connection and wellbeing.
The idea for the day came from a set of resource cards translating common nature words into different languages. From this grew a vision for a relaxed, welcoming day in nature for people who speak English as other languages (ESOL) and their allies – centred on language, creativity and shared experience rather than expertise.
Reaching the right people took time. With support from Multicultural Cumbria, Carlisle College and Unity Festival organisers, interest grew. By the day itself 30 people were booked onto a 17‑seater minibus, which was a joyful logistical challenge.
An ancient place, seen anew
Drumburgh Moss is a site of international importance: a lowland raised mire and one of Western Europe’s most threatened habitats.
On a grey autumn day it can feel quiet and understated, so the team focused on helping people experience the place rather than explaining it.
After arriving at the reserve, the group set off on a gentle walk, meeting the grazing Exmoor ponies along the way. Activities invited people to slow down and notice: creating environmental art from foraged materials, pausing for listening exercises, and sharing observations as they moved through the landscape.
The afternoon brought birdwatching, pond dipping and poetry, but the highlight for many was extracting a peat core. As the dark column of peat emerged from the bog, stretching back thousands of years, conversations shifted.
“One metre of peat equals a thousand years.” explained Kevin Scott, Reserves Warden. Time suddenly felt tangible beneath everyone’s feet.
Common ground
Unity Festival is about unity, and that spirit ran through the day. Conversations moved easily between languages, supported by gestures, laughter and translation apps.
A patch of lichen on a wooden handrail sparked stories of traditional medicine in Pakistan. Peat led to discussions about its uses (and misues) in Ireland, Africa and Asia. Images of lizards prompted joyful comparisons between them and their crocodile cousins.
“We call this ርግቢ, [rǝgǝbi]” said Schmendi, from Eritrea, pointing at a pigeon.
“In Arabic it’s بيجون, [byjun]” someone replied.
The bog echoed with many languages – all equally at home.
Poetry in the peat
Towards the end of the day, the group created a communal poem, each person contributing a single line in a language of their choice.
Translated into English, it read:
The bog is wet,
The place is very beautiful and cold,
One meter of peat = 1000 years!
Boatmen on the water,
It has been brilliant to hear so many languages echoing on the bog,
Thousands of years of bog, thousands of years of language,
The geese show us how to support each other,
Discovering our home in nature - restoring the world, giving wildlife a helping hand,
I like nature very much, this place is very familiar to me.
What we learned
Many who joined on the day already felt a strong connection to nature, recognising plants, animals and landscapes from their own experiences. Yet none of the participants had visited before.
Barriers were practical rather than personal: transport, suitable clothing, confidence about what to expect. Borrowed wellies, waterproofs and a shared meal helped remove those barriers and made people feel welcome.
It became clear over the day that language differences didn’t limit curiosity, care or learning. People were eager to ask questions, share stories and learn from one another – often teaching new perspectives in the process.
Looking ahead with hope
One event cannot build lasting relationships on its own, but it did lay good foundations.
Since Unity Festival, Cumbria Wildlife Trust has continued to connect with new communities exploring ways to support ongoing access to nature through volunteering, shared resources and friendly connections.
What will come of this day is still unfolding. It may have sparked a renewed passion for bog landscapes for some, whilst others may simply remember a muddy, laughter‑filled afternoon spent outdoors. Either way, something meaningful was shared.
On the Solway Coast, the bog quietly holds thousands of years of history beneath our feet. For one autumn day, it also held fresh voices and a hopeful glimpse of how nature can bring us together.
