This webinar explores the flora and fauna of the bog, from mosses to otters to bats to birds!
Our presenters:
Dr George F Smith is a consultant ecologist who has been studying raised bogs for over 10 years. He provided specialist ecological assistance for The Living Bog LIFE-funded raised bog restoration project. He is participating in NPWS survey and monitoring projects for raised bog SACs and NHAs. George has a special interest in the mosses and liverworts of peatlands and is the British Bryological Society regional recorder for Offaly and Westmeath.
Denise O’Meara is a lecturer in Waterford Institute of Technology. She is a researcher in the Molecular Ecology Research Group and has carried out a range of wildlife themed projects on pine martens, squirrels, otters, bats and small mammals.
"My talk titled "wild mammals of the bog" will provide an overview of Irish wildlife and discuss ways we have surveyed for otters, pine martens and squirrels on some of Ireland's bogs and surrounding woodlands. I will include some non-invasive survey approaches and also talk about enhancements that can be made to sites and surrounding areas including the provision of den boxes for pine marten, bat boxes and squirrel feeders."
John is Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland and has a particular interest in bird communities of upland habitats and their conservation. His recent work has focused on improving our understanding of bird populations in important upland and peatland habitats and in improving our understanding of how these species are affected by anthropogenic pressures in these areas, to inform conservation policy. He has led several national surveys to understand the status of Merlin and Hen Harrier populations in upland areas and has collaborated on and led research initiatives to investigate the impacts of land-use changes such as afforestation in our uplands. He is currently leading a research initiative to assess and improve current conservation measures for the protection of forest-nesting bird species from forest management related disturbances in upland areas. John has been interested in how bird populations respond to the restoration of peatlands and in particular raised bogs. He recently worked closely with the Living Bog Project and other stakeholders including Galway County Council to gather baseline information on bird populations on Carrownagappul Bog in east Galway, which has undergone restoration and habitat improvement works through the Living Bog Project. Last year, he initiated a more extensive survey of breeding birds on a range of raised bogs in the midlands to understand the importance of these sites for endangered bird populations and to inform how the restoration works may provide benefits for raised bog specialists which currently breed on these sites or which may breed in in the future.
Connecting Communities with Peatlands is a project funded by the National Just Transition Fund led by Irish Rural Link and Community Wetlands Forum.
Find out more about the project at www.communitywetlandsforum.ie
Follow us on social media
Twitter: @CCWPeatlands
Facebook: Connecting Communities from Peatlands
Instagram: @CCWPeatlands
