As more people become aware of the treasures our bogs hold, their attention is being drawn to unusual plants which decorate the peatlands.

EVERY year in Ireland we get a phoney spring, says Dick Warner. 

Apart from the natural beauty of bogs and their importance for nature, there’s also the bigger picture of tackling climate change, writes Donal Hickey

Bogs are landscapes that need to the conserved, writes Donal Hickey

A LONG country roads these days, you’ll occasionally meet tractors towing trailers clamped high with new season turf, being brought home earlier than usual as a result of excellent drying conditions in the bogs.

IT’S been a long time since we’ve seen such a profusion of autumnal shades so late in the year.

SOME readers have been in contact arising from last week’s column on the proliferation of insects this summer, and we can only hope that the message sent out wasn’t all negative.

It might be said that fish and water-attracted birds are about the only wildlife that relish flood conditions.

It’s the time of year when large numbers of frogs can be seen on the roads at night with predictable results — death under the wheels of cars and other traffic.

Doonbeg Golf Club has joined forces with the Irish Peatland Conservation Council and Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) in opposing plans for a €200m wind farm in Clare.

NEW books devoted to Irish birds don’t appear that frequently.

OF the thousands of people out walking during the bank holiday, some will choose bogs and general peatland areas, but how many really understand how unique that landscape is?

WILDLIFE lovers are urged to participate in efforts to save three, soft, slippery creatures that live on land and in water.

The managing director of the West Clare Railway has claimed a planned €200 million windfarm — with pylons topping 400ft — places the railway’s future development in considerable doubt.

THERE’S a town in eastern France called Vittel and every year around the beginning of May it holds a festival called the Foire aux Grenouilles.

TURF will no longer be cut on 54 EU designated habitat sites after a last minute deal was struck between turf cutters and the Irish Peatlands Council.

ONE of the most heartening things to happen in Ireland in recent times has been the heightened awareness of the environment among children who are now leading the way and, indeed, educating their parents on such matters.

UP to fairly recent times, bogs were simply regarded as sources of fuel or useless wasteland.

I AM fascinated by the way garden ponds are colonised by wild aquatic plants and animals.

THE days are lengthening, and it’s a time that some people head for the bogs and windy uplands, for yet another year’s supply of turf.

Donal Hickey says local warnings should be heeded

ACTIVE raised bog is facing extinction in Ireland, the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) has again warned.

ACTIVE raised bogs are seriously under threat of extinction in Ireland, warns the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.

CONSERVATION groups have pleaded for action to save the country’s most vulnerable wildlife following a study which shows many animals, plants and habitats are in decline.

Damien Enright recommends events for Biodiversity Week.

TURF cutting may be banned several years before an anticipated ban comes into force. The turf-cutting season is well underway, but it could be one of the last.

ONE of the consequences of massive development has been the destruction of boglands.

THE summer just past was one of the best in living memory for drying turf.

Food & Wine Magazine - April issue showcases Cork - Europe’s Capital of Culture - so many terrific places to eat, drink and shop for food.

Donal Hickey on the value of our rapidly vanishing bogs.

PLANS to build a €300 million windfarm in Co Mayo are in doubt as fears grow that planning permission for the development will be appealed to Bord Pleanala.