Excitement builds in Laois as Abbeyleix Bog Project awaits Pride of Place judging

The bog project will represent Laois in this year's all-island competition

Excitement is building in Laois for Pride of Place Awards Judging Day this July 25.

This year, Co Laois will be represented in the 2024 IPB All Island Pride of Place Competition by Abbeyleix Bog Project CLG in the Climate Action and Biodiversity category.

The all-island competition, which is sponsored by IPB Insurances and hosted by Co-operation Ireland, gives communities across Ireland, the opportunity to display how proud they are to live in, work in and take care of their own local areas.

The Pride of Place competition is a wonderful opportunity to recognise initiatives taken by local communities and to celebrate the vital contribution that they make to society.

The judges will visit Abbeyleix Bog between 2.30pm and 5.00pm on Thursday July 25.

Abbeyleix Bog Project is a community-led/volunteer-driven initiative dedicated to protecting a 500-acre bog on the edge of Abbeyleix Heritage town.

This raised bog, typical of Ireland’s Midlands, developed over thousands of years and faced existential threats after a drainage programme caused the death of the peat-forming bog mosses by the end of the last century.

Peat harvesting was imminent, but the local community intervened with a blockade, and formed the Abbeyleix Bog Project in 2009. What could have been an end marked a new beginning for the bog, with a lease agreement transferring it to the local community for conservation and tourism.

Since then, the Abbeyleix Bog Project has rejuvenated the area, transforming it from an arid site to a vibrant wildlife haven and seeing the active raised bog area grow from 1% in 2009 to nearly 14% by 2020, with further improvements anticipated.

The bog, now a rich biodiversity hub, serves as a beacon of hope and a testament to successful conservation.

If you or your group wish to get involved in the preparation for the judging at Abbeyleix Bog, you can contact the Pride of Place Liaison Officer on (057) 86644150 or email [email protected].

All help will be gratefully accepted!