Topic: Peatland

[Alan]

. . . or Bog's as we call them here in Ireland are categorized into
2 types, Blanket Bog's and Raised Bogs.

For centuries we have harvested Peat or "Turf" from these lands
to burn in the home and to fertilise farm land.

These bogs are the remains of decayed plant material which has been
layered over for thousands of years.

The cutting of this turf was once carried out manually using a 2 sided
type of spade called a "Slane".
Today the cutting is carried out by machines. But there is still a lot of
manual labour attached to the turning, footing and stacking or bagging
of the turf before it is taken from the bog for storage.

This project has been an ongoing affair for about 3 years and finally
I hope to conclude it this year.
I used 2 Holgas to record the images and used various types of film.

The First two images below show an empty bog with the bank in the distance.
the bank is where the turf is taken from, every year the bank gets further
and further away. The un-cut bog is layered with mostly grass, lichen, moss,
heather, beautiful flowers with some types being quite rare.

[Alan]

The bog is quite spongy and retains a lot of moisture, Human remains
about 4000 years old have been uncovered in Irish bogs, The peat
is an excellent preservative.

The machinery used for cutting is not entirely specialized with the exception
of the "Hopper". It is fed turf scooped from a bank by a digger and loaded into
its body where it then compresses and mounds the turf while laying and cutting
it on the previously cut bog ready for the human interaction.

Because of the wide tracks used under the machines a human will exert more
pressure on the ground while standing than these monsters!

As the "Track Machines" move across the bog the ground will vibrate violently
and can be felt for about 20 metres all around and still they dont sink.

[Alan]

The cutting of the turn starts in early Spring and is left
lying on the ground for about a month. May is usually a very
fine month here and with the rise in temperature and long
daylight hours the manual labour can begin.

The task of turning and "Footing" the turf has to be done by
hand is is back breaking work but satisfying in a way.
Many of the bogs are quite remote so a trip to the bog with
a packed lunch can be a very peaceful and enjoying one.
The only sounds which may be heard is that of birds and farm
animals grazing in nearby fields which once were bogs themselves
but are now effectively drained of excess moisture.

Traditionally the footing of the turf would have been a communal
affair with many families working and eating together.

The main object of turning and footing the turf is to get it dry. after it
is turned and footed it forms a hard skin so even a shower of rain just
rolls off the surface.

[Alan]

After the turf has sat basking the late spring / early summer sun
and blown dry by the winds which sweep over the flat bogs the
turf is ready moving again.

The next task is a final preparation before it is removed from the
bog altogether or left stacked over the coming winter until the
following summer to be "saved" or brought home for storage.

The images below show the stacked turf on pallets in "clamps"
or in bags. The turf is stacked into clamps in such a way that
the wind doesn't knock the stack but can whistle through and dry
the turf. Some people bag the turf for easy removal from the bog,
but this depends on how dry the turf is before bagging.

[Bryan]

Wow Alan great photos and very informative narrative!  The way you described walking on it reminded me of what it's like to walk on the tundra in Alaska.

[Alan]

Hey Bryan, thanks for visiting and thans for the comment.
glad you like the thread.

Two final images for now of different "Reeks" of turf stored onsite
in the bog over a winter.

Four tapered walls are usually built with the turf and the remaining
turf is just piled in and covered with plastic and secured by ropes
with weights. There is absolutely no shelter on the bogs so the winds
can really sweep across movin anything unsecured to various distant
locations.

The reeks are also built up when the turf is drawn home again either
covered with plastic sheeting or built up in large barns and sheds.
Like the footing and stacking, building reeks is carried out in many
varying ways depending on families preferences and locations.
 

[Domingo A. Siliceo]

Thanks Alan for such a nice and instructive report.

[Alan]

Thanks Alan for such a nice and instructive report.

  thanks - glad you found it interesting.

[Indofunk]

Ditto on the beautiful and informative series! Since the bogs are harvested every year, are there any estimates on how long these bogs will continue to have enough peat to harvest? Or are they constantly renewing themselves?

[Alan]

Hi Indo.

Glad you too are liking the series.

The bogs have been harvested for I suppose hundreds of years, but since the 50's I suppose
they have been harvested in a major way, primarily by a semi-state company "Bord na Mona".
Peat has been harvested by them for Home heating fuel, fertiliser for gardens and earlier
as a replacement for coal for burning in the power stations.

I'm not sure if they are renewing themselves although about 30% of the exhausted bogland
is used now for forestry, and that in part is how the bogs were created in the first place.

the average "man in the bog" says that there is 1000's of years of cutting left in the bogs
but there is a lot of trouble at the moment with an EU directive on conservation which has to be
implemented and which reduces and in some cases prohibits cutting particularly of the "Raised Bogs"
as these are designated as special conservation areas.

Of course if your family has been cutting turf on their own raised bog for generations and suddenly you
are told you cannot do it any more . . . well you wouldnt be happy.

[KevinAllan]

Interesting documentary work, Alan

I've seen peat cutting in the Outer Hebrides but never saw machines being used there - unless you count a £60k Range Rover driven over the moor to collect peat rather than pay for fuel ...

[Alan]

Thanks Kevin,

Hmm well you couldnt drive on the bog pictured with the machinery above
you would most certainly sink to the point of being pulled out with a double
wheeled tractor!

A