Discovering Peatlands
A personal journey discovering Irish peatlands through volunteering and guided walks. Learn why these bogs are vital for carbon storage, wildlife, and conservation.
🗺️ Quick Links
- Discovering Peatlands
- My Experience on the Bogs
- What Exactly Is a Peatland?
- Why Peatlands Matter
- Life on the Bog
- Human Impacts
- Why I Care
- Further Reading
Discovering Peatlands
Recently, I’ve had the chance to get out onto the bogs myself, first for a restoration volunteering day with the RSPB, and then for a guided bog walk with Ulster Wildlife. I always knew bogs and turf were part of Irish culture, but I didn’t realise just how important these landscapes are for the planet, or how much history they hold beneath the surface.
It was my first time ever on a bog (and my first time in wellies!). I wasn’t expecting it to feel like such a new world under my feet.
My Experience on the Bogs
Volunteering with the RSPB
The restoration day was just a taster. It was very hot, so we didn’t do too much heavy work, but I learned loads. We looked at peat depths, drain depths, vegetation patches, and how GIS mapping is used to plan restoration.
I carpooled with three others (two RSPB staff), and the craic in the car alone made the day. But stepping onto the bog itself was something else.
The damage was immense in parts. Huge flat faces cut down to the mineral layer, areas completely stripped bare. The contrast was shocking: one side barren earth, the other side bright green sphagnum moss thriving beside undisturbed patches.
Despite the damage, there were magical moments. I saw my first frog (and got a photo with it!), and we even spotted a marsh fritillary web — possibly the first record of that butterfly in the area. That gave me goosebumps, seeing how life still clings on even in damaged bogs.
Walking with Ulster Wildlife
A few days later, I joined a bog walk with Ulster Wildlife. This bog had already undergone restoration work just last December, and the transformation was incredible. Staff showed us before-and-after photos, and it was like night and day.
The drains had been dammed, water levels had risen, and the whole surface was alive again. Sphagnum moss and sundews carpeted the ground, creating a lush, springy blanket I almost wished I could lie on.
I was full of questions for the staff. I couldn’t believe how quickly the bog had bounced back. It was living proof that restoration works, and works fast.
Standing there, surrounded by that vast, spongy landscape, felt surreal. It’s like stepping onto another planet, but one that’s deeply tied to our history and future.
What Exactly Is a Peatland?
A peatland is an area where peat builds up — layers of dead vegetation that only partially decompose. Because bogs are waterlogged and low in oxygen (anoxic), decomposition is incredibly slow. Instead, vegetation builds up millimeter by millimeter.
On average, peat grows about 1mm a year. That means one metre of peat equals 1,000 years. The bogs I visited had peat depths of 9–10 metres — up to 10,000 years old! Walking there felt like standing on a living timeline.
Why Peatlands Matter
Even though peatlands cover just 3% of the Earth’s surface, they store almost a third of all soil carbon. More than double what’s stored in forests!
That makes them one of the most powerful natural carbon sinks we have. But when drained or cut for turf, they release this stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
Life on the Bog
Bogs are harsh environments — acidic, nutrient-poor, and waterlogged. Yet they’re full of life uniquely adapted to survive here:
- Carnivorous plants like sundews and butterworts that catch insects.
- Heather and hardy mosses like sphagnum.
- Wildlife like frogs, dragonflies, newts, and many nesting birds.
- The marsh fritillary butterfly, dependent on devil’s-bit scabious, is one of many species that find a home here.
- Lichen grows everywhere, specifically reindeer lichen here.
Human Impacts
Historically, turf-cutting drained and damaged many bogs. Other threats include forestry plantations, grazing animals, wildfires, and even ammonia deposits from farmland, which can turn sphagnum into mush.
Walking across damaged sections, I saw how lifeless they become once drained. Compared to the thriving, waterlogged areas covered in moss and teeming with plants. That contrast will stick with me.
Restoring Peatlands
The good news is bogs can recover quickly if restored. Restoration involves:
- Blocking drains and raising water levels.
- Removing scrub or forestry.
- Reprofiling bog surfaces so sphagnum can recolonise.
- Using GIS and drones to map drains, vegetation, and peat depths.
What amazed me most was seeing restoration success first-hand. Within months, water levels were up and mosses and plants were returning. It made the science real, right under my boots.
Why I Care
These experiences changed how I see peatlands. They’re not just bogs or cultural turf-cutting sites, they’re vital ecosystems. They lock away carbon, support unique biodiversity, and hold thousands of years of history beneath our feet.
Next time I see a pile of turf, I’ll be thinking about the millennia it took to form, and the role peatlands could play in our fight against climate change if we let them thrive again.