Restoring the Bogs: Behind the Scenes with the RSPB Peatland Programme.
I recently had the opportunity to document a day in the field with the RSPB Peatland Programme and what I witnessed was nothing short of inspiring. Armed with just my phone since I was in training, I captured the hands-on work of volunteers helping to restore some of Northern Ireland’s most threatened yet powerful ecosystems: Peatlands. Often overlooked, these vast, spongey landscapes play a critical role in tackling climate change by locking away carbon, regulating water flow, and supporting rare biodiversity.
The restoration process isn’t glamorous, it’s muddy boots, saws in hand, kneeling in bog water to collect peat depths, assess habitats and remove encroaching vegetation. But it’s real work that makes a real impact.
What struck me most was the energy and passion of the team. From experienced conservation staff to first time volunteers, everyone came together with a shared purpose: to give these damaged habitats a second chance.
Tasks included:
Cutting and clearing invasive scrub
Recording species and peat depth
Monitoring habitat condition
Learning about bog ecology and its role in climate resilience
No prior experience is needed, just a love of the outdoors and a willingness to help.
For me, as a photographer focused on documentary work, this was an incredible chance to not only witness the process but to contribute by telling the story of peatland restoration by visually highlighting the dedication, the landscape and the vital importance of this work.
If you’ve ever wanted to make a direct difference in protecting nature, I can’t recommend this enough.
Together, we can help these incredible landscapes thrive again.
Below is a Sundew. Its leaves are covered with tiny red hair like tentacles each tipped with a sticky glistening droplet of dew that traps insects. Once an insect is trapped, the tentacles curl inward to engulf the prey, and the Sundew plant secretes enzymes to digest it, providing nutrients missing from the bog soil.
The next 2 images were a fantastic find on the day. Marsh Fritillary nest on Devil's bit Scabious. Larvae hatched and feed together in a protective communal silken web.
The Marsh fritillary caterpillars are under threat from spiders, bugs, ground beetles and parasitic wasps. The parasitic wasp is the main threat and can cause severe mortality leading to huge fluctuations in the size of the marsh fritillary populations. This wasp can inject up to seventy eggs into a single caterpillar and in some years can kill 75 per cent of the caterpillars. In other years, due to weather conditions, the parasitic wasp cannot develop as quickly as the marsh fritillary caterpillar, which then avoids becoming a victim.
Endangered due to loss and reduced quality of breeding habitat as a result of agricultural improvement along with fragmentation of habitat, leading to small/isolated colonies leaves the marsh fritillary vulnerable to extinction through chance events, natural population fluctuations, and genetic decline.
Below is a simple method of monitoring habitat condition by marking off a section
and recording the findings.
The two images below show the large Bracken Fern which reproduce by the spores
seen here on the back.
Below is Sphagnum moss which carpets the ground with colour on our marshes,
heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs:
by storing water in their spongy forms, they prevent the decay of dead
plant material and eventually form peat.
Below we have a simple method of recording peat depth which is essential for
assessing carbon storage to guide habitat restoration.
Below we found Bog Myrtle which leaves have a sweet scent like the smell of
eucalyptus which makes it a great insect repellant.
The two images below shows how you should tread lightly as to not trample
any creatures of the bog.
Below you can see we are being careful by making sure that we walk in each others footsteps as not to damage the ecosystem underneath us.
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