Understanding the potential of New Zealand peat bogs to study past climate change. We are a group of academics from universities in New Zealand and the UK who are starting work on a new project in New Zealand studying peat bogs throughout the country. In our broader research, we look at how climate has changed over approximately the past 15,000 years and try to understand how this relates to the functioning of the climate system under natural conditions. Ultimately, we can use information like this to improve the climate models used to predict future change. We would love to do more of this work in New Zealand, but there are currently not many methods available for us to do so. Our new project aims to test whether a new method, studying the isotopes in restiad peat moss, will work. If it does, then we can take cores down through the peat bogs, that accumulate slowly over many thousands of years, to study New Zealand’s past climate. Follow our posts and blogs over the coming year to find out how we get on.