To mark International Bog Day, the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC), is hosting an event on Sunday, July 24 in Co. Kildare, to celebrate “the brilliance of bogs”.
International Bog Day is celebrated around the world on the last Sunday of July in acknowledgement of the benefits peatlands bring to the ecosystem. These include storage, food, recreation, carbon storage, biodiversity and flood control.
Peatlands also provide a natural habitat to a variety of plants and animals which are not found on any other sites.
In celebration of these “ecosystem services”, the IPCC will run a schedule of events from 1:00p.m to 5:00p.m, at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre in Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare.
This will include the removal of scrub from Lodge Bog with An Taisce’s climate ambassadors from 1:00p.m to 2:00p.m, which will be followed by a guided tour of the peatland exhibition and wildlife gardens at the centre. Following this, at 3:30p.m there will be a guided walk and talk around Lodge Bog
Meanwhile, there will be a number of children’s activities taking place from 1:00p.m to 4:00p.m such as pond dipping and an interactive exhibit at the national reptile zoo.
Along with marking International Bog Day, the IPCC is also celebrating 40 years of protecting and conserving peatlands in Ireland, and have encouraged the public to come to the event and take part in the activities. It also noted that refreshments will be provided on the day.
Restoration of peatlands
The importance of restoring and protecting peatlands has become more apparent in recent years and the IPCC is working to combat threats posed to bogs such as afforestation, drainage, peat extraction and wind farm developments.
A number of bogs around Ireland are managed by Bord na Móna, who operates a rehabilitation programme that rewetted more than 8,000ha of peatlands within it’s first year.
A pair of common cranes recently hatched two chicks on one of the rewetted sites, marking a significant milestone in the return of the species to Ireland.