turf cutting
Extracting bog fuel
Turf cutting is the practice of extracting peat from bogland, traditionally done by hand with a special spade called a slane.
The cut blocks are dried and burned as fuel.
In Ireland and Scotland, turf cutting has been a rural tradition for centuries: We spent the summer helping with the turf cutting.
The practice now faces environmental restrictions due to concerns about carbon release and habitat destruction.
- peatlandsWetlands with accumulated plant matter
- spadeFlat-bladed digging implement
- fuelEnergy source material
- black goldSlang for petroleum
- peat smokeCombustion of bog fuel
traditional practices · bogs · footing · community rituals · mattock · rick · clamp · biodiversity · drying racks · soil conditioner · oral traditions · heritage · folklore · drying · heather · brown · subsistence farming · habitat loss
- canvassingcanvassers, knock, door knocking, door-to-door, canvass
- Irish craftsIrish lace, Irish linen, Claddagh rings, Celtic knotwork, Celtic crosses
- peatlandspeat, bog, peat bog, sphagnum, peat moss
- estovers
- peatpeat moss, peat bogs, peatlands, peat soil, peat pots
turf cuttingcoal mining
Underground carbon extraction
oil drilling · fracking · logging · timber harvesting · mining
turf cuttingrewilding
Restoring natural ecosystems
land reclamation · carbon sequestration · reforestation · carbon capture