Our bogs are rich in species

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.

However, the number of people harvesting turf has diminished, as have the bogs, and most of the turf is now cut by machine. The man with the traditional slean (turfcutting spade) is a truly endangered, if not almost extinct, species.

Attitudes to peatlands are also changing and such places are being regarded more as rich nature reserves with numerous species of plants and wildlife — places to be conserved and cherished.