PRESS RELEASE: 8th August 2013
On Sunday the 18th August the Bog of Allen Nature centre will be celebrating National Heritage Week with a demonstration of the Ecohydrological Management work that is taking place on Lodge Bog. There will be a talk on IPCC’s on-going ecohydrological management of Lodge Bog to include a visit to the study site. Ecohydrological site management, involving analysis of the links between hydrological functioning and surface ecology, is considered best practice and has been recommended to be carried out on all raised bogs of conservation concern in the country.
Ecohydrological Management is a fusion of different disciplines – hydrology, geology and ecology and it provides conservation agencies with a powerful tool in the management of raised bogs. The work involves detailed analysis of the current hydrological state of the bog, both at the surface and lower in the groundwater system beneath the peat in the bog. Peat cores sampled from the bog allow for the reconstruction of the historical plant assemblages that were present when the bog began to grow and the type of landscape in which the bog formed. This information is crucial for land managers with an interest in restoring peatland. An examination of the thickness and composition of the living layer of bog mosses on the surface of the bog is the final piece in the jigsaw that makes up a living bog and this provides insights on ecosystem functioning within the bog habitat. When all of this ecohydrological information is pulled together it is possible to make prediction models of the response of the bog to different management interventions.
Through analyzing what is going on below the ground can we get an insight into what the surface we see everyday has done historically and what it is likely to do into the future!
In addition to the talk by Tadhg ó Corcora, IPCC’s Conservation Officer, there will be a full programme for famililes. From 2-5pm the Bog of Allen Nature Centre will be open for visitors to explore the peatland heritage of Ireland. The museum takes in all aspects of peatlands from the use of peat as a domestic fuel for heating and cooking in the home to the variety of wildlife found on the wet and wild habitat of Ireland’s peatlands. The wildlife gardens will be open to discover how you might enhance the wildlife in your own garden and how you can choose to garden without peat.
For further information contact 045-860133 or e-mail bogs@ipcc.ie. This event is supported by Kildare County Council under the Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2013.
ENDS
Photographs and interviews available on request, telephone on 045-860133 and ask for Tadhg Ó Corcora, Conservation Officer
IPCC, Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare, or email bogs@ipcc.ie.
More information about the project can also be found on www.ipcc.ie or the Facebook page of the IPCC
Editor’s Notes:
IPCC is an NGO formed in 1982 to ensure the conservation of a representative sample of Irish bogs. Our activities include education and publicity, promoting environmental awareness, provision of information and encouraging the protection and conservation of our national heritage for the common good. We own and manage a number of peatlands for conservation and we run the Bog of Allen Nature Centre, which is open to visitors and school groups. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council is a company limited by guarantee, with charitable status. www.ipcc.ie