The Countryside Environment

Keelan Fisher interviews 57-year-old David Pickett in Scotland and 18-year-old Jone Bagdanskyte in Pennsylvania for the ‘100 Voices: Home and Away’ project.

One of Pennsylvania’s State Parks. Photo by Professor Habits on Unsplash

Home- David Pickett, Blawhorn Moss, Scotland

David Pickett, 57, reserve manager of Blawhorn Moss takes care of the biggest and least disturbed raised bog in the Lothians. He said: “A raised bog is a dome of peat containing 1,000 of years of accumulated plant material that doesn’t rot because of waterlogged conditions; that is what peat is. There is a considerable amount of carbon in peat. To prevent it from getting into the atmosphere and so contributing to climate change, a bog needs to be kept waterlogged and ‘active’. If active and continuing to accumulate peat, it acts as a carbon sink. We maintain and extend the active bog at Blawhorn Moss by raising the water table and managing vegetation by damming ditches and creating barriers to hold water within the bog.”

Away- Jone Bagdanskyte, Pennsylvania, USA

Jone Bagdanskyte, 18, who studies English Literature in Pennsylvania, said: “The parks in Pennsylvania, such as Forge Valley or the state parks, people really admire.

“Part of the attraction is the fact that the US is so varied in climate and nature, that no two parks look the same due to their unique location, and so become a more varied attraction to visitors from around the country.

“People in the US put a lot of care into maintaining nature. My university and the arboretum’s workers often collaborate on events that spread awareness about forestry and the significance of looking after the nature within it.

“I’ve heard about so many events, lectures and exhibitions that are being organised to help members within those communities become educated about preserving nature and doing the best they can to protect it.”