Irish Peatland Conservation Council

Description

The Irish Peatland Conservation Council is a national charitable organisation in Ireland that works to conserve bogs and peatland wildlife. It was founded in 1982, growing out of the National Peatland Conservation Committee, and is best known for its long-running Save the Bogs campaign. It is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation registered as a charity, and a member of the Irish Environmental Network.

Its mission is to conserve a representative sample of Ireland’s peatlands for people to enjoy now and in the future. It buys and manages peatland reserves, including bogs in counties Kerry, Waterford, Meath, Clare and Kildare, and monitors peatland developments across around a thousand sites of conservation value. It advocates for the wise use and management of peatland resources and campaigns against practices such as peat extraction.

The council trains teachers and brings schools to visit its reserves, and runs education and outreach programmes at its Bog of Allen Nature Centre in County Kildare. It publishes action plans, policy papers, a newsletter and other educational material on peatland conservation. It relies mainly on public donations, alongside a small paid staff and a large group of volunteers and supporting members.