A bog-rewetting project on 50 acres – 20 hectares – has commenced on farmer, Tommy McGovern’s land at Lackaduff, Doocastle, Co. Mayo .
The rewetting project will see 36,000t of carbon sequestered at the Lackaduff site, and will prevent 20-30t of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Tommy is partnering up with well-known contracting firm, John Sisk & Son, which has a team of volunteers re-blocking drains and helping to bring the bog back to life.
Green Restoration Ireland (GRI), established in 2019, is also a project partner. It works to “reverse the ecological degradation of the Irish landscape and the loss of rural communities”.
Did you know?
Ireland is home to 50% of the last remaining raised bogs in western Europe?
This local bog feeds into a tributary of the Owengarve, part of the Moy River in Co. Mayo.
Emissions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from Lackaduff currently range from 1.4-2.14t/year. This will be reduced by 90% as a result of the work carried out by Sisk and its partners, the company said in a statement.
Ongoing monitoring by GRI will confirm the long-term ecological success of this work.
“Of the 20 hectares of raised bog at Lackaduff approximately 8.24 are impacted by drainage ditches, and an estimated 11km of drains need to be blocked for the full restoration works to be completed,” according to a Sisk spokesperson.
What is rewetting?
Rewetting bogs involves blocking drains that can restore the water balance within peatland, so that plants can grow and re-establish to provide and improve animal habitats in the bog and downstream rivers.
Rare wildlife in east Mayo will also benefit as a result of the bog rewetting including, the red-listed bird species of skylark, meadow pipit, snipe, curlew, as well as the Irish hare.
In 2020, Sisk launched its 2030 Sustainability Roadmap – Building today, Caring for tomorrow. The Lackaduff project is just one of 21 targets the construction company has committed to.
GRI, meanwhile, is helping landowners to set a positive precedent and take action to restore their bogs while generating new income streams including through the creation of carbon credits in the long run, it said.
Commenting on the project, landowner, Tommy said:
“We have a lot of peatlands in Ireland and there is a solution here for locking the carbon into our bogs. This is the future, make the bogs work to fix the climate crisis and with help from the likes of GRI and Sisk we will.”
Doug McMillian of GRI said: “We are delighted that Sisk has come on board to support GRI with our bog restoration work in Co. Mayo.
“There are so many degraded peatlands that have been abandoned that are just crying out to be restored.
There’s so much work to be getting on with that there’s no time to lose if we’re to turn things around.”