This last weekend the Bog Squad went off on a big adventure to the wilds land of Angus (well 5 miles north of Dundee anyway!) After a relatively problem free journey to the farm where the bog is located we continued in a pick-up truck which took us on an 'interesting' journey over the farmland to our bog.
The bog in question was Carrot Hill Meadow SSSI and this particular bog is very different to those that we've previously worked at as it's a fen fed by nutrient-rich spring water. This means there's a wide variety of wildflowers and scarce plants growing there. So not much in the way of acidic loving species such as heather and sphagnum.
The bog in question was Carrot Hill Meadow SSSI and this particular bog is very different to those that we've previously worked at as it's a fen fed by nutrient-rich spring water. This means there's a wide variety of wildflowers and scarce plants growing there. So not much in the way of acidic loving species such as heather and sphagnum.
Our task for the day was to block up various ditches and channels that were leading to water loss from the site and threatening the plant communities that thrive here.
Firstly there were two plastic piling dams to put in - they put up some resistance but we got there in the end thanks to the volunteers hard efforts.
After that we took to blocking up some of the smaller channels with soil and turf. That meant things got a fair bit muddier.... This technique was a previously untested Bog Squad method but I'm pleased to say it worked out well and by the end of the day we'd made 11 of these.
Now all that was left was the long road back to Stirling via a pick-up ride over the fields and then a plush hire car trip on the motorway. I'd like to say a massive thank you to those that came along and helped, it was a long hard day for everyone - but a good job well done!!