Bog Restoration Pilot

CALL has received funding from the National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS] Peatlands and Natura Community Engagement Scheme to carry out a bog restoration pilot project on a circa 2 acre site in Killeen, near Louisburgh Co Mayo. CALL was generously offered the opportunity to work on this pilot piece of bogland by the farming family who own the land, the McNallys, who live in Killeen. 
 
The plan is to help the bogland to restore its biodiversity by enabling water to flow into the area. We have been advised by Wetlands specialist and ecologist Dr Feidhlim Harty (FH Wetland Systems), on good ways to dig shallow drains into the bogland, to allow re-entry of a measured amount of water, and the regrowth of species on the shallow banks of the newly dug drains. 
On 21st June 2025, we carried out the initial phase of works under the advice of Feidhlim, with Michael McNally operating the digger and daughter Dee McNally assisting and working with Feidhlim, and wtih Richard Mannion, Director of CALL advising. We had a professional photographer, Aggie Jankowska, there to document the work on that day, Dee will carry out monitoring and a photo diary over the next few months. 

In September, we plan to bring out some helping hands in the form of TY students from the local High School, Sancta Maria in Louisburgh. More on that soon.  In October [date TBC] we plan to hold a public event in Killeen Community Centre to look at the photographic record of the work and the impact it has had on this pilot area of bogland.