Peatland Connections: Plumbing The Depths Of A Galloway Bog

Online Event, 7.30pm, 28th April

Dumfries & Galloway has a very important part to play in Scotland’s Peatland story. Around 20% of Scotland’s peatland (with carbon rich soils and deep peat habitats) can be found in our region, with approximately one third of the region as a whole classed as ‘Peatland’.

Scotland’s peat soils are our largest terrestrial store of carbon and hold around 140 years’ worth of Scotland’s national greenhouse gas emissions.

The Spring programme of ‘Natural World’ online events ends with a ‘squelch’ on 28^th April, with what promises to be a fascinating evening exploring the importance of Galloway Peat bogs and the number of different functions they provide.

The ‘Peatland Connections’ project is now underway, seeking to use art and science to reconnect rural communities, scientists, land managers and policymakers with our beautiful peatlands. The project is exploring the functions peatlands provide now, and exploring how we can better measure and account for these functions through today’s complex world of land use decisions.

Scotland is really good at water and as a result Scotland is really good at bogs. So good that we have a rich heritage that has come out of the bog! It’s probably an urban myth that the Inuit have a thousand words for snow, but we have innumerable words for bog, some call them moss others mire or even risk and even mòine! Whatever you call them, this event will delve deep and find facts, myths, tales and truths!

The event , from 7.30pm to 9pm on the 28^th of April will include 5 short presentations, each with their own angle of peatland interest – covering communities, ecology, art, archaeology and language.

Presenters include:

• Dr Michael Stratigos, an archaeologist studying historic changes to wetland environments and how that has impacted cultural and natural heritage
• Jayne Murdoch, the Peatland Connections project Officer, a three-year project aiming to explore our connection to this sometimes-forgotten landscape.
• Kate Foster, an artist committed to supporting peatland restoration through her work.
• Dr Emily Taylor, leading on work to developing carbon metrics and accounts for peatlands, designing restoration projects and training up machine operators and land managers in the art of peatland restoration.
• Prof Thomas Clancy, Professor of Celtic at the University of Glasgow and Place Names guru, exploring how peatlands have influenced today’s language and place names.

To book your free place at this event, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/plumbing-the-depths-of-a-bog-tickets-148563955791 or search www.Eventbrite for ‘Galloway Glens’. Everyone registered will receive log in details by email, before the event. Any queries, please get in touch with the Galloway Glens team.

Ahead of the event, Jayne Murdoch, Peatland Connections Project Officer, said:

“We are really excited to be sharing this evening with the Galloway Glens audience. We have an interesting and varied programme that will keep you entertained right from the start.”

The event will be hosted by the Galloway Glens Scheme. Nick Chisholm , Galloway Glens project Officer, added:

Our peatlands and wetlands are an integral part of our landscape, as well as the biodiversity benefits and their ability to be carbon sinks they are a repository of history and culture, this is going to be a great opportunity to explore this.

With this marking the last in the Galloway Glens programme of ‘natural world’ events, McNabb Laurie, Galloway Glens Team Leader, said:

This is the last in our programme of ‘natural world’ events and it couldn’t be ending on a more urgent and important subject. Looking forward to the COP26 Climate change conference in Glasgow, we need to better understand the importance of our Carbon storing peatlands, and Dumfries & Galloway plays a vital part of the peatland story, in its broadest sense.

The programme of events has been very well received, allowing us to tease out some of the details and stories from Galloway’s Natural World. My sincere thanks to Nick for leading each one and the support from partners.”