Global: International Bog Day, July 25th
21.07.10
Traditionally held on the last Sunday in July International Bog Day aims to celebrate and help conserve these precious ecosystems.
Classic bog plants: Round leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) on sphagnum moss.
© Forestry Commission
Bogs have historically been treated with contempt: they're inaccessible, hard to build on, unproductive, and seen as - to many people - unsightly wastelands. But they harbour fascinating and endangered communities of plants and animals.
The UK's lowland bogs have suffered particularly in the past few centuries, with the Wildlife Trusts saying over 94% have been "damaged or destroyed". Organisations have started to turn the tide and restore many bog systems, but ultimately it's the horticultural industry, and its dependence on peat, where change will be felt most positively for bog systems.
Related links:
Wildlife Trusts (UK)
UK: The Great Fen – last chance for endangered fen plants?
15.01.10
Alan Bowley from Natural England talks about this historic landscape and what the future looks like for its populations of special plants.
UK: Cutting down trees in the name of conservation
11.09.09
In an unusual twist of irony the Forestry Commission plan to fell 170,000 trees in the name of conservation.
UK: Wildlife returns to flooded bog
14.08.09
A huge restoration project to bring back 12,000 year old bogs in Northumberland has been completed nearly two years ahead of schedule.