From a distance they appear to be just sparse acres of dull land with deep puddles, handfuls of scrappy shrubs and sodden moss.
But their ability to store carbon means the Flow Country’s peatlands are the unlikely superheroes of the climate crisis, though few might care to wade through their miles of flat, wet, blanket bog to see them up close.
Now, however, the rare beauty of the north of Scotland’s peatlands is being brought to the fore, as part of a new exhibition which explores their importance both to the planet and to the communities that live on and beside them.
Linking Scotland with peatlands thousands of miles away in Peru, For Peatlands’ Sake at the University of St Andrews’ Wardlaw Museum features a series of images captured by renowned Scottish photographer Sophie Gerrard.
Over the course of two years, she photographed the peatlands of the Flow Country in Caithness and Sutherland from above and at ground level, in an effort to dispel the myth that they are simply vast, empty, bleak and desolate areas.
Entitled The Flows, her images reveal in pinpoint focus the delicate beauty of the landscape as it evolves through the seasons: the brushstrokes of colour lurking within clumps of sphagnum moss, the sprinkling of frost on the tips of grasses and shrubs, and the delicate curve of the waterways that flow through them.
She also photographed the people who live and work in the area, including landowners, conservationists and farmers.
Many are engaged in helping to restore peatlands after decades of mismanagement that saw waterways diverted and blocked, and non-native species introduced, wrecking its delicate balance.
As a major carbon store, the protection of peatlands is regarded as vital in the fight against the climate emergency with concerns that their destruction could lead to carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in catastrophic quantities.
At the same time, communities which live on and by peatlands often rely on the natural resources and ecosystems for their way of life.
Ms Gerrard said: “The landscape of the peatlands is important for mitigating climate change and Scotland is home to the largest blanket peat bog in Europe – it is vital it’s protected.
“I’m delighted that The Flows – a body of work I began making in 2019
– is now one of the most recent acquisitions to the University of St Andrews’ photographic collections and that it is being exhibited at the Wardlaw Museum.”
The new exhibition, which opens this weekend, was developed with Dr Katy Roucoux from the university’s School of Geography amd Sustainable Development, and contrasts the bleak, sparse expanse of the windswept Flow Country with the peatlands of Peru.
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Unlike the flat and seemingly unwelcoming blanket bogs of the Flow Country, Peru’s peatlands appear lush and thick with life – archetypal “swamps” – and are vitally important to the Urarina community, who traditionally harvest trees for food, fibre and fuel, and rely on them for hunting. However, it’s feared that over-harvesting, construction and changes to the landscape for farming could lead to the peatlands being drained, with potential for devastating fires.
The exhibition includes photographs and research gathered by researchers from St Andrews, Edinburgh and Leeds universities, and the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (Institute for Research on the Peruvian Amazon) during fieldwork in the country’s Amazonian peatlands.
As well as measuring and mapping the distribution of carbon, the group has been researching the biodiversity and long-term dynamics of the peatland ecosystems, alongside their use and cultural importance to the communities who live there.
The exhibition also seeks to encourage visitors to make lifestyle decisions to help protect peat.
Eilidh Lawrence of the Wardlaw Museum said: “We hope visitors to the exhibition will see that small actions can make a difference in our fight against climate change and have a positive impact.
“That could be anything from buying peat-free compost or asking your garden centre to stock it, to avoiding palm oil, which is often grown on degraded peatlands, and supporting conservation efforts taking place on our own doorstep.”
For Peatlands’ Sake opens at the Wardlaw Museum in St Andrews on Sunday and runs until May 8.
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