PEAT MOSS: ANCIENT FUEL - MODERN MENACE STORY SUBMITTED BY HAMISH FARMER OF BFL CANADA'S REALTY DIVISION
BFL CANADA, a top-tier risk management, insurance brokerage and benefits consulting firm, that offers extensive expertise in property risks. For guidance on claims prevention, coverage education, and bylaw review, contact our Realty Division. Hamish Farmer, a Vice-President with BFL CANADA's Realty Division, can be reached at hfarmer@bflcanada.ca.
In the lush hills of Northern Ireland, a young lad named Ciaran, a seasoned sheep farmer, found himself chilled one morning. His dimming fireplace barely keeping his fingers from freezing, when he set out to the peatlands. Passing his sheep, memories of times with his father, the shared tradition and art of cutting peat warmed his spirit. With a day's labor, he collected enough peat for a week’s warmth. As the cozy scent filled his cottage, he felt profoundly connected to his ancestors, their tales and the land. Would that it were so simple. Such a connection to peat isn't unique to Ciaran. Archaeological findings indicate that peat moss was utilized as fuel by Iron Age farmers in parts of Belgium and the Netherlands as far back as 725BC. It still powers electrical plants in Europe and is so prevalent in North America that we often trample all over it while hiking without ever giving it a second thought. This fuel, with energy equivalent to most woods and when treated - even coal - frequently appears as a primary ingredient in potting soils. Spring often ushers in the excitement of gardening. Residents and gardening committees alike embark on beautifying community spaces and balconies. Yet, as summer advances, enthusiasm wanes. Plants are forgotten, soil dries, and greenery turns to tinder. Planters go unattended, while smokers, often observed but needs ignored, find a resting place for their discarded butts in these very planters. Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; The Holocene Volume 27 Issue 11, November 2017. Insite to Condos, Summer 2023
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