Echoes from the bog
Welcome to RE-PEAT’s Echoes From The Bog – your go-to podcast for all things peatlands, justice, and ecological wonder!
Through storytelling, interviews, and deep dives, we explore the cultural, environmental, and political threads that connect us to bogs, mires, fens, and everything in between.
From activist insights to artist reflections, join us on a journey across Europe (and beyond) to uncover the hidden stories of peat!
Latest Episode
We’re joined by Dr Scott Davidson to explore peatlands as “overutilized and underappreciated” ecosystems.
From the Peat Colour Project to global wetland research, we discuss how citizen science, photography, and public engagement can help us better understand and protect these vital carbon-storing landscapes.
To find out more about Dr Scott’s work, please visit his website and get involved! You can also see the projects on instagram here.
S2.E4. Overutilized and Underappreciated: How Citizen Science is Reframing Peatlands
ALL episodes
Series 2
S2.E1. From Fashion to Restoration: A Healing Peatland Supply Chain
In this episode of Echoes from the Bog, we speak with Julian Ellis Brown, co-founder and CEO of UK startup Ponda, about building materials that actively support wetland restoration.
From their plant-based insulation material BioPuff® to innovative models that combine crop income with carbon, biodiversity, and flood management benefits, Ponda is exploring how fashion and finance can help rewet peatlands and make regeneration economically viable for farmers. A conversation about regenerative business models, creative capital, and designing industries that give back to peatlands and wetlands.
In this Restoration Series episode of Echoes from the Bog, we explore what community-led peatland restoration looks like in Ireland and southern Scotland and what justice might mean for peatlands, farmers, landowners, and local communities. You’ll hear Holly in conversation with Doug McMillan (Green Restoration Ireland) on “paludiculture,” peatland farming, and why restoration has to come with reliable income for land stewards. Then we visit Ardee Bog with Fiona Crawley (Friends of Ardee Bog), where a fragmented, unprotected bog is being cared for through small grants, shelters, and cups of tea — slow restoration grounded in relationship. Finally, Kate Foster speaks with socio-ecological artist Kerry Morrison (Team Peat / Crichton Carbon Centre) about creative monitoring, access, and “deep hanging out” as a vital method for bringing wider publics into peatland repair.
S2.E2. Peatland restoration and why communities matter
S2.E3. Peatland Youth Action on the Global Stage
In this episode of Echoes from the Bog, we explore the international efforts behind peatland protection. How do global climate agreements and wetland conventions translate into real conservation and restoration projects?
We speak with Eva Hernández (Wetlands International) about the Peatland Breakthrough, a global initiative working to stop peatland drainage, restore millions of hectares of degraded peatlands, and mobilize funding for large-scale action. We also talk with Cisca Devereux (UN Environment Programme) about the growing role of youth in global environmental policymaking, and why meaningful youth participation is essential for tackling the climate and biodiversity crises.
S2.E4. Overutilized and Underappreciated: How Citizen Science is Reframing Peatlands
We’re joined by Dr Scott Davidson to explore peatlands as “overutilized and underappreciated” ecosystems.
From the Peat Colour Project to global wetland research, we discuss how citizen science, photography, and public engagement can help us better understand and protect these vital carbon-storing landscapes.
To find out more about Dr Scott’s work, please visit his website and get involved! You can also see the projects on instagram here.
ALL episodes
Series 1
S1.E1. Precious Peatlands: Stories from Estonia
In this episode we shine a spotlight on the cultural, ecological, and personal connections that make Estonia’s bogs so unique. You’ll hear from an artist, an activist, and a landscape architect, each sharing their stories, memories, and deep ties to the peatlands they cherish.
Did you know that over 20% of Estonia is covered by peat soils? Yet despite their beauty and importance, many of these ecosystems are under threat. Join us as we celebrate the life, folklore, and resilience of Estonia’s bogs – from sunrise walks and guardian spirits to the vivid greens that only a peatland can hold.
S1.E2. Mapping deeper connections across peatlands
Greetings from the mire! In this special episode, we reflect on our recent residency at the Greifswald Mire Centre in northern Germany — home to the world’s largest peatland database and the Peatland and Nature Conservation International Library.
Join us as we explore the beginnings of our deep map — an unfolding tapestry of stories, politics, histories, and ecologies tied to peatlands. Through interviews with Beth, Lu, and Bobbi, we dive into the personal and political significance of mapping peatlands in unconventional ways, and how this method supports our ongoing Peatland Justice campaign.
From non-binary landscapes to capitalist critique, from Dutch drainage history to reimagined futures — this episode invites you to sink deeper into the peat!
S1.E3. Hans Joosten - On Peatlands, Paludiculture and Change
Hans Joosten is a world-renowned peatland scientist, conservationist, and activist who has spent nearly five decades knee-deep in the world of wetlands. In this episode of Echoes from the Bog, Hans reflects on his extraordinary journey, from growing up in a Dutch peatland to founding radical conservation movements and influencing international climate policy.
We talk about the origins and future of paludiculture (wetland farming), the emotional power of environmental storytelling, and why restoration is never just technical. It's cultural, political, and deeply personal. Hans shares candid thoughts on the tension between activism and diplomacy, the myths that shape how we treat land, and the simple truths that keep him going.
S1.E4. Precious Peatlands: Stories from Germany
In this episode we journey into the peatlands of Germany. Once vast, now largely drained, yet still full of life, memory, and possibility. Through three rich interviews with Laisa, Lara-Lane, and Judith, we explore how personal experience, historical reckoning, creative practice, and ecological care intertwine in shaping new relationships with these landscapes.
From eco-social design and participatory exhibitions to oral histories and restoration work, this episode dives into the challenges and opportunities facing German peatlands today and the people working to restore, reimagine, and reconnect with them.
S1.E5. Bog Academy - Peatland Education in Ireland
In this special episode of Echoes from the Bog, we journey into RE-PEAT’s beloved educational programme: the Bog Academy.
Created for children aged 7–12, the Bog Academy invites young people to connect with peatlands through storytelling, science, creativity, and all five senses. From sphagnum experiments and ancient bog myths to poems about phoenixes and reflections from the students themselves — this episode offers a glimpse into how children are reshaping our relationship with these vital ecosystems.
Featuring real field recordings, unforgettable moments, and a whole lot of bog magic!
S1.E6. Are you also confused by peatland restoration?
Peatlands once stretched wet and wild across Europe, now over half are degraded. This podcast explores the messy, hopeful work of bringing them back. From EU law to local action, we dive into the ecology, politics, and people reshaping our bogs, and ask: what does restoration really mean?
S1.E7. Connecting Through Peatlands: Voices from Workshops
How do people connect with and value the landscapes around them? We are exploring this in this episode through discussing creative workshops and community action. From composting to storytelling, from sensory encounters to activism, we discover how workshops can transform the way we see peatlands and ourselves.
Featuring Ffin from Criw Compostio, Caroline and Jamie from RE-PEAT , and Marella from Save Our Sperrins, this conversation uncovers how local initiatives build emotional, ecological, and cultural relationships with the land. Together, they remind us that valuing peatlands goes beyond carbon or economics; it's about connection, care, and shared imagination.
Tune in to hear stories of composting, curiosity, and collective care and reflect on how your own landscapes shape the way you see, feel, and belong.
S1.E8. Restoration and Peat Relationships - A Conversation from Finland’s Archipelago with Ville Laitinen
In this episode of Echoes from the Bog, we travel to Finland’s Southwest Archipelago to talk about nature restoration, peatlands, and youth action. We met with Ville Laitinen, a member of Luontoliitto, the Finnish Nature Association, that has been restoring habitats from coastal meadows to drained peatlands for decades.
We discuss how peatlands are perceived in Finnish society. From being seen as harsh, isolated places or resources for forestry and fuel, to being valued as carbon sinks, biodiversity hotspots, and cultural landscapes rich with folklore. Together, we explore questions of just transitions, community involvement, and the challenge of working across differences between locals, hunters, environmentalists, and policymakers.
The conversation dives into youth empowerment, climate anxiety, and what it means to turn complex emotions into collective action through hands-on restoration camps. It’s a story about care, connection, and why, as our guest said, “nature brought us here, but the community made us stay.”
S1.E9. Growing without Peat: lessons from the local movement
What does it take to grow healthy plants without destroying peatlands? In this episode we explore the peat-free movement at the local scale, where growers, farmers, and soil innovators are proving that sustainable, peat-free compost is not only possible, but already thriving.
We speak with Bernhard from Humus Guru, a pioneer in regenerative soil management whose work shows how locally sourced organic materials can replace peat in horticulture. We’re joined by Harriet of Harriet’s Plants, the UK’s first 100% peat-free houseplant nursery, who shares how peat-free growing can be both accessible and beautiful. And we hear from Toekomstboeren, a grassroots network of small-scale farmers in the Netherlands, on why going peat-free is essential for food sovereignty and ecological justice.
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