The most important plant in the world — carolinevitzthumstudio

Caroline Vitzthum

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The most important plant in the world (2024), 16mm Kodak colour film, 4K film, sound, 16 minutes.

The most important plant in the world is the first in a series of short films commissioned by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme under the collective title Sphagnum Portraits. This series brings together the work of individuals, environmental charities, and community groups whose ambitious projects highlight the vital role of peatlands and actively contribute to the restoration of damaged sites across the UK. Through film, the series aims to deepen public understanding of peatland ecosystems while celebrating the dedication and ingenuity of those working to protect them.

The film premiered at the IUCN UK Peatland Programme’s Peatlands, People, and Nature conference in Aviemore in September 2024. It focuses on a collaboration between the Moors for the Future Partnership and BeadaMoss, a family-run nursery based in the East Midlands, to reintroduce Sphagnum moss to a peatland site in the Peak District. This particular site was severely damaged by a wildfire in 2018, leaving the landscape vulnerable to erosion, carbon loss, and biodiversity decline.

At the heart of the film is the story of BeadaMoss’s pioneering work in micro-propagating Sphagnum moss for large-scale peatland restoration projects across the UK and Europe. Working closely with environmental charities, their process begins with the careful collection of small quantities of moss from damaged sites. These samples are nurtured and multiplied under controlled conditions in their greenhouses, before being returned to the moor as plug plants. Over time, these reintroduced mosses help re-vegetate the site, stabilise the soil, store carbon, and restore the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

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Credits:

A film by Caroline Vitzthum
Commissioned by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme
4K, drone, & 16mm film footage by Caroline Vitzthum
Edited & Sound Design by Oliver Sutherland
Music by Ben Stepner
Sound Recording by Caroline Vitzthum
Font Design by David Einwaller

Featuring:

Joe Margetts
Neal Wright
Robbie Carnegie

Also Featuring:

Nico Vela
Billy Fowler
Moira Males
Felicity Hill
Poppy Gibson
Emily Wild
Luke Wykes
Luke Hallam
Finley Butt
Tim Parfitt
Sadie Manning
Jacqueline Wright
Neal Wright
Anna Len
Svitlana Pasachnikova
Will Turner
Naomi Solleveld
Laila Babjakova
Fingal Symonds
Dylan Gardner
Rianne Johnstone
Julie Bagguley
Elaine Ace
Elaine Highet
Katie Vincent
Ann Horsfall

Special Thanks:

Sphagnum
Jane Akerman
Emma Hinchliffe
Sadie Manning

Screenings & selected film festivals up to current date:

2025 (upcoming)
Limbo, group exhibition, De Proef., Drenthe, NL

2025
SOIL: Celebrating all things earthy!, Braziers Park School of Integrative Social Research, Oxfordshire, UK

2025
Frome International Climate Film Festival (Official Selection), Frome, UK

2024
Peat-fest: The London Stage, House of Annetta, London, UK

2024
Peatlands, People & Nature, IUCN UK Peatland Conference, Aviemore, UK