One of the main topics of the environment and culture course was the development of the local natural history. We learned a lot from Séan about the current flora and fauna (not a lot of the latter are around to be honest), and then went to wander around looking at it all. Here are a few pictures from our expeditions.
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Blanket bog and Lough UnshaghThe most notable feature of the landscape is the great open areas of blanket bog that covers almost all of it. Here we have a view of a part of it, a few miles from the village (or half a mile if you believe our teacher). The lake is Lough Unshagh, which in time will itself become bog. You can also see the remains of a small settlement, probably abandoned at the time of the Famine. |
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Peat cuttingPeat turf is still the main fuel supply in the area and, although machine cutting is taking over, a lot of it is still cut by hand. This photo shows the edge of a cut. The bog oak sticking out of the side of the cut is about 4000 years old: the peat at the bottom of the cut is probably about 6-7,000 years old. My companion (I think it's Molly) gives an idea of the depth of the cutting. Ireland used to be forested: a combination of climate changes and the cutting down of the forests by Neolithic man was the cause of the growth of the bog. Ireland is now the least-forested country in Europe.
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Bog orchidsThe bogs are covered in a wealth of specialised wildlife: mainly the sphagnum moss and heather, but also sun dew, bog cotton, bog asphodel, beautiful bog orchids and many others. Here is a cluster of bog orchids.
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Orchid and TormentilA detail of a bog-orchid with a couple of yellow tormentil flowers below.
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Bog asphodelA pretty yellow bog asphodel with a sprig of pink heather.
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Self-heal and kidney vetchMore flowers from the hedgerows: the purple ones are self-heal and the fluffy yellow ones are (I think) kidney vetch. There were a lot of other vetches and clumps of pretty blue scabious, which I didn't get a photo of. The hedges are also full of bright red fuchsias.
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LichenA strange shot this: lichens covering a stone slab on one of the neolithic tombs. I was fascinated by the patterns.
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