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Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

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Podcast: Medicinal plants in Ireland’s bogs

20 January 2022
< 1 minute

The long-leaved sundew (Drosera anglica), a carnivorous plant found growing at Lodge Bog in County Kildare. Image: Gaia Scalabrino

Ireland’s peatlands face an uncertain future but a project to unearth its medicinal plants could prove a remedy for these degraded ecosystems


This episode, we head over to the peatlands of Ireland. Degraded and drained, Ireland’s peatlands face an uncertain future. But as journalist Lucy Kehoe discovers, a ground-breaking project to find new medicines, following leads from the country’s ancient folklore, may offer salvation. This long read is read by Sophie Pavelle. 

In the second half of the podcast, we’re joined by writer Edward Struzik, author of Swamplands: Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs and the Improbable World of Peat. Struzik is a fellow at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University. Here, he talks us through the wondrous world of peat, and why we need these carbon-rich, biodiverse landscapes more than ever.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts!

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Published in the UK since 1935, Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

Informative, authoritative and educational, this site’s content covers a wide range of subject areas, including geography, culture, wildlife and exploration, illustrated with superb photography.

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