Irish Peatland Society
Peatland Study Trip 2023
Field Trip List
As part of Peatland Gathering 2021, various members of the peatland community are offering in-person field trips to various peatland sites around in Ireland on Saturday, October 9th, 2021.
BOOKING IS NOW CLOSED
Places allocated on a first-booked, first-served basis, individual field trip organisers will email applicants with details of meeting instructions.
Site name: Abbeyleix bog
Location: Abbeyleix, Co. Laois
Description: Raised bog purchased by Bord na Mona in the 1980s with the intention of commercial peat harvesting, an extensive drainage network was constructed for peat extraction, but abandoned following opposition from a local community group, later known as the Abbeyleix Bog Project Ltd, and drains subsequently blocked. This field visit will detail studies that have evaluated the greenhouse gas emissions and hydrology of this recovering bog
Places available: 20
Site name: Ballaghisheen Bog (Glencar)
Location: Near Glencar, Co. Kerry
Description of site: An excellent example of near pristine Atlantic blanket bog, participating in the Pearl Mussel Project whereby farmers are financially rewarded for maintaining and improving habitat quality through an innovative results-based agri-environmental scheme. A previously afforested part of the bog has been the subject of restoration measures (Coillte EU LIFE project) while an undisturbed part of the bog has been the subject of intensive research relating to greenhouse gas dynamics (UCC-led project).
Places available: 20
Site name: Ballydangan Bog
Location: Midway between Athlone and Ballinasloe on the old Road (Moore Hall is the starting point.)
Description of site: A community led project where various actions for species of conservation concern are carried out on a restored, raised bog.
Places available: 20
Site name: Cloncrow Bog
Location: Tyrellspass, Co. Westmeath
Description of site: Sections of this bog are the pilot site for both the EU ‘Care Peat’ and EIP FarmPEAT projects. The trip will explore the dynamic nature of Cloncrow bog that contains typical high bog characteristics and degraded and cutover areas. The visit will include a walk over of the Care Peat pilot site to demonstrate the rewetting works (bunding and peat dams) and ongoing monitoring (GHG & environmental). Additionally, it will include an introduction to the FarmPEAT Project which includes Cloncrow as one of its Project Areas. FarmPEAT will be focusing on sustainable management of agricultural lands on peat soils in the transitional areas around raised bogs such as Cloncrow.
Places available: 20
Site name: Life IP Wild Atlantic Nature Field Trip
Location: Co. Galway
Description of site: This trip will focus on the management of farmland and its influence on the quality of peatland habitat. Participants will be introduced to the Wild Atlantic Nature Results Based Payment Scheme (RBPS), an agri-environment programme specifically designed for farming in high nature value areas. RBPS rewards participating farmers for services, including biodiversity, water quality and carbon storage and sequestration, by linking payments to the environmental quality of a farm, with higher nature quality resulting in a higher payment level. This approach creates a market for environmental services, and provides an opportunity /incentive for farmers to manage their farm to deliver better quality habitats, thereby benefiting the farmer, the environment and local communities. LIFE IP Wild Atlantic Nature is a nine-year environmental project (2021-2029) which aims to improve the conservation status in the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) network of blanket bog.in the northwest of Ireland. For more information see www.wildatlanticnature.ie
Places available: 20
Site name: Dublin/Wicklow Mountains
Location: Dublin/Wicklow mountains
Description of site: Upland blanket bog - land use, condition, restoration efforts.
Places available: 10
Site name: Garron Plateau
Location: Cargan, Co. Antrim
Description of site: Intact blanket bog, investigated by ecohydrologists since 2018 and fully instrumented.
Places available: 20 (Professional field trip)
Site name: Lemanaghan peatbogs
Location: Co. Offaly
Description of site: The Lemanaghan complex of bogs is a unique and important archaeological and historical landscape. The main focus of the fieldtrip will be a visit to a 1km long trackway stretch located across Derrynagun bog which was in use from the 7th century AD to recent times and is one of the most important and impressive trackway sites in Ireland. It leads up to the ecclesiastical Island at Lemanaghan and is a huge construction and undertaking, implying a large and cohesive, well-organised community. The area has an extraordinary density of archaeological sites within the peatlands and the surrounding area. Irish Archaeological Wetland Unit surveys identified over 630 archaeological sites making this one of the highest densities of wetland archaeology in the world.
Places available: 30
Site name: Mount Allen with Tommy Earley
Location: Mount Allen, Co. Roscommon
Description of site: Small raised bog site being restored by the landowner.
Places available: 20
Site name: Pollardstown Fen
Location: Just north of the Curragh Racecourse, Co. Kildare
Description of site: Internationally recognised wetland under Ramsar Convention with having rich biodiversity, home to several protected species. One of the earliest wetlands subject to restoration and protection measures, particularly during the construction of the N7 Kildare motorway.
Places available: 15
Site name: Scohaboy Bog SAC/NHA
Location: Sopwell, Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary.
Description of site: An award-winning community-supported conservation success story, Scohaboy has seen two significant restoration projects to date, the 2013 EU/LIFE project with Coillte Forest and the 2019 restoration project funded by the NPWS under the National Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) Management Plan 2017-2022. The Cloughjordan Community Development Committee are the local partners in the Scohaboy restoration programme.
Places available: 20
Site name: Scragh bog
Location: Near Mullingar, Co. Westmeath
Description of site: Fen with a floating vegetation raft, has recently been designated as a Special Area of Conservation. This field visit will detail ecohydrological research studies that have been carried out over the last 3 years by TCD in order to gain insights as to how groundwater and nutrients move and cycle through the fen.
Places available: 10