The photo project Peat tells the story of the importance and beauty of Ireland’s peatlands and the gradual disappearance of the old Irish tradition of cutting peat. For this project, photographer Bo Scheeringa immersed herself in rural Irish life for a year, photographing the peatlands and bogs and the peat-cutting process through the changing seasons.
She spoke with peat cutters and conservationists and collected their stories to explore whether old traditions and nature conservation can coexist. Peat is found across the vast boglands of northwestern Ireland.
She noticed that, in keeping with tradition, many people in rural northwestern Ireland still cut peat and use it as fuel. On one of her trips through Ireland, she encountered a family loading pieces of peatland onto a trailer. That authentic, nostalgic image of the family and the peat harvest stayed with her.
Her connection with Ireland was nurtured by the solitude of its peatlands, the beauty of its wild coasts and the Irish people themselves, who are renowned for their friendliness.
As Scheeringa delved into the subject, she discovered that peat extraction also has a downside. Once peatland is exploited, it no longer absorbs CO2; instead, it begins to release it. Burning the extracted peat also produces high CO2 emissions.
Ireland’s bogs are now recognized as historic natural landscapes of major international importance. With the last remnants of Ireland’s raised bogs under threat, Europe risks losing this habitat altogether; elsewhere in Europe, including the Netherlands, it has already been largely excavated.
Today, cutting peat for private use is prohibited in many boglands in Ireland’s Midlands because the European Union has designated them as important nature reserves.
While the Irish government worries about European fines, traditional peat cutters in these areas are up in arms and continue to defend their turbary rights despite the threat of criminal and financial penalties.
As long as affordable alternatives remain unavailable, many people in northwestern Ireland will hold on to their deeply rooted peat-cutting tradition for as long as they can. It is as much a part of rural Irish life as farming.
For now, the distinctive sweet smell of peat smoke still drifts through almost every Irish village and rural town. But as tradition and conservation increasingly collide, it is fair to wonder how long that will continue.
© Bo Scheeringa
Previously published by this photographer: Ruim leven.
Peat - Bo Scheeringa
Pages: 192
Price: €64.00
Publisher: Uitgeverij Komma
ISBN: 9789083142944
