Peat is a collection of partially decayed organic matter, which is often found in peatlands, bogs or moors. Peat can be used as a form of compost or as fuel, like coal, making it extremely valuable. Peatlands are also the most efficient carbon sink on the planet, however, it is not a renewable source of energy as it grows much slower than it is extracted. The Wicklow Mountains are made of multiple habitats, like bogs containing peat, which throughout history were cut for fuel. Since the mountains were declared a national park in 1991, the peat cutting has declined, but the farming of it has left harsh scars on the landscape that have endured for decades. The trenches left can be several feet deep, and when flooded, can seem harmless but make the mountains dangerous to traverse.

The Mountains have been important to my family, with my grandfather working in the mountains cutting peat from when he was 6.