The Bog Blog - International Bog Day
The PCARB group were excited to escape the lab and share their work to a wider community of bog lovers during the International Bog Day Festival. This global festival is to highlight the importance of bogs, fens, swamps and marshes; anywhere with peat! In Ireland, the event took place at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre; an excellent location considering Lodge Bog is immediately next door!
In addition to the excellent peatland exhibition at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre, visitors to the event were able to meander in the gardens, go pond dipping for critters, walk to Lodge Bog, eat cookies and drink tea, and (most importantly) visit the PCARB group!
The PCARB group setup several interactive displays. Visitors had the opportunity to examine testate amoebae (a microscopic bog critter!) and volcanic tephra through a microscope, reconstruct bog paleoclimate using a colorful clay model, observe several well-made posters detailing current and future peatland work by the PCARB group, and listen to several wonderful talks relevant to the PCARB project.
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Overall, we were encouraged by the outcome, with the community intrigued by our research activities. The community generally wants to know more about bogs! With that said, we were happy to share our bog knowledge at the International Bog Day Festival and look forward to more community events.
