Eyes on the Bog (EoB) is a standardised methodology founded by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme enabling individual peatland sites to be consistently monitored across the UK, creating a network of comparable sites. The initiative employs cheap, simple techniques and modern technology to enable useful monitoring information to be collected by peatland community employees or volunteers.
Heather Bothwell of the West Cavan Bog Association (Britain & Ireland) reached out to the IUCN UK PP team during the 2020 conference in December. We are pleased to hear that since learning about the EoB initiative at our conference in Belfast in 2019 that they have since set up two Eyes on the Bog sites in Fartrin and Aughaween. Heather said:
“I came across Eyes on the Bog because the conference came to Belfast in 2019. I attended one day and somewhere saw EoB. We had already had a couple of specialists explain to us about slumping, (if I am remembering correct term. A near neighbouring bog, the Chapel bog (near Ballyconnell Town) looks from desk top studies to be ok but has bad problems. The County Council has been deepening a drain along Fartrin, because of a road. It was suggested to us that this would actually increase the problems of the road because of the slumping, and of course was not helping the bog (which has no designation). EOB seemed a very relevant project.”
The West Cavan team have also generously created a video where you can explore the sites and learn more about the process of setting up an EoB site:
If you would like to learn more about creating and monitoring an Eyes on the Bog site you can also watch this step-by-step guide via the IUCN UK Peatland Programme YouTube channel:
