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Beatha air a’ Mhòintich - Life on the Peat

In Harris we go in search of the stags which roam the peaty uplands. And in Lewis, presenter Anne McAlpine joins Danny Mackay to put the finishing touches to a peat stack.

Tha mòintichean a’ cur taic ri diofar dhòighean-beatha. Sna Hearadh, aig àm reitheachd, tha am preseantair Anne NicAilpein a’ sireadh na daimh a tha a’ siubhal talamh àrd nam mòintichean. Air raointean farsaing mòintichean Chanada, tha na lusan pitcher a’ dèanamh rud iongantach – ag ithe shalamandaran. Tha luchd-saidheans ann an Èirinn a’ rannsachadh mar a dh’fhaodadh lusan-mòintich a bhith a’ leigheas – fiù ‘s aillse? Tha Anne cuideachd sna Tìrean Ìsle, far a bheil traoghadh agus buain mònach air buaidh mhòr a thoirt air a’ chruth-tìre agus mar a b’ àbhaist do dhroch ìomhaigh a bhith aig talamhan-mòintich an sin, ‘s iad ga mheas mar ‘Thìr an Diabhail’. Na dachaigh ann an Leòdhas, tha Anne a’ nochdadh fhad ‘s a Dànaidh MacAoidh a’ cur crìoch air a’ chruach-mònach aige, agus tha sinn a’ coinneachadh ri cruthaidhear mòine choimeirsealta san Fhionnlainn, far a bheil cùisean ag atharrachadh ri linn uallaichean mun àrainneachd.

Peatlands support different kinds of life. In Harris, during rutting season, presenter Anne McAlpine goes in search of the stags which roam the peaty uplands. Amidst Canada’s vast swathes of peatland, the pitcher plants on the bog are showing surprising behaviour – they are eating salamanders. Scientists in Ireland are investigating the healing powers of bog plants. Could they help to fight cancer?

Anne also travels to the Netherlands, where peat drainage and extraction has heavily influenced the shape of the landscape. She learns how peatlands used to have a bad image there, thought of as Devil’s land. In her home island of Lewis, Anne joins Danny Mackay as he makes the finishing touches to a peat stack, and we meet a commercial peat producer in Finland, where times are changing amid environmental concerns.

In Gaelic with English subtitles

58 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Anne MacAlpine
Director Catriona Lexy Campbell

Broadcasts