In the summer of 2019, ELM Media, one of the LIFE Peat Restore partners, is actively working on the documentary films proposed in the project. The first shots were taken already in 2017 in Poland, followed by filming sessions in Lithuania and Latvia. This summer, the ELM Media team is travelling around Latvia, actively looking for areas and working on the film. Most of Baltic partners are involved in the film-making process by proposing suitable areas, providing interviews and demonstrating the ecosystem restoration work. The main characters of the films, both people and peatlands, represent different countries, thus stepping beyond the national borders and covering the peatland topic on a broader scale, as well as demonstrating peatland degradation and restoration examples from all five project countries.

During the last year, there had been active discussions on the scripts of the films among the project team members. At the end, a decision on two films instead of one full length movie was taken to reach larger audiences – both people without knowledge and previous experience on peatlands and professionals and peatland experts. One film will provide insight into peatlands and their multiple roles in nature including carbon sequestration, climate and water cycle regulation and biodiversity conservation, as well as human-caused impacts on peatland ecosystems and their consequences. The film focuses also on peatlands and their relation with climate change, both through the optics of common people, as well as experts of various relevant fields, examples of different areas and explanations of essential processes in nature. The other film targets mainly experts, as well as those who have already some knowledge of peatlands, by focusing on peatland restoration techniques and their potential effect.

The film crew is full of ideas and energy to carry on the work. This summer the shooting of the film will take place in Latvia and Estonia. Recently the film crew has finished work in Engure project area and in peatlands in the surroundings of Riga (Latvia) and are now looking ahead at the filming session in Estonia, and later also in Lithuania and Germany.