AICBRN members heard an inspiring presentation on the Peat Hub Ireland project.

Presenting were Dr Kate Flood a peatland researcher working at the intersection of social science, ecology, culture and the arts exploring the relationships between people and peatlands and Dr Florence Renou-Wilson a Peatland Scientist & Senior Lecturer at UCD who has investigated peatlands in an integrative way for more than 25 years at the crossroads of ecology, forestry, agriculture, climate change and sustainable management.

Together with Dr David Wilson the team carried out an evidence synthesis on Irish peat land research from 2020 – 2023 Peat hub Ireland have produced excellent outputs tailored for many varied audiences – all of this in 16 months!

They reviewed more than the published literature and included grey literature, expert knowledge, stakeholder analysis and surveys resulting in fully integrated research. The project aims included providing direction for policy based on the totality of evidence and to make this research accessible.

Peat Hub Ireland outputs listed below and available here

• Glossary of 120 + terms, with an option for users to add more!
• Database of 900+ research articles and reports accessed for synthesis
• Factsheets – great educational resource
• Policy Brief – and a research gap analysis
• Scenarios workshop
• Journal article
• EPA report with key facts, research gaps, implications for policy and future research