Caithness and Sutherland, in the far north of Scotland, is home to one of the world’s last wild places.
The area, known as The Flow Country, has a vast expanse of blanket bog – the largest in Europe – and the best of its type in the world.
Blanket bog only forms in cool places with plenty of rain and the few plants that grow here do not rot away, but build up to form deep layers of peat.
The bogs have been growing for more than 10,000 years and the peat is now more than 30ft deep in places.
It plays a vital role in the defence effects of climate change as the bog acts as a carbon store or “carbon sink”.
This summer an event inspired by the Flow Country peatlands, will take over the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh as part of the 2019 Fringe Festival.
Artists from all over the UK visited the area to get inspiration for the project, entitled Below the Blanket and which will see the Royal Botanic Gardens transformed in the evenings into a sensory experience through a series of visual, sonic and kinetic installations.
Below the Blanket features new work from visual artist and composer Kathy Hinde, composer Luci Holland, visual artist Heather Lander, sound designer Matthew Olden and artist Hannah Imlach.
They all spent time in residence at the Peatland Partnership’s field centre on the RSPB’s Forsinard Flows National Nature Reserve and have created work directly inspired by the wildlife and landscape of the unique place and by the work of scientists based in the peatlands.
Visitors will be able to experience the event, which ranges from a soundscape created from underground sound recordings taken from deep inside the bog to sculptures powered by water, as they walk around the garden.
Below the Blanket will also feature the premiere of a choral work composed by Malcolm Lindsay (who hails from Caithness) and sung by Scottish baroque ensemble the Dunedin Consort.
It will be installed as a recording throughout the project and sung live on August 2, 16 and 23.
Ian Edwards, head of exhibition and events at the garden, said: “Undoubtedly one of the most important things that Scotland can do to avert climate change chaos is to protect and restore our precious peatlands, like the Flow Country.
“Their fragility but also their resilience lies within the intricate network of biological diversity that lies beneath the surface, including the variety of mosses, lichens, invertebrates and micro-organisms that remain hidden and under-appreciated. Below the Blanket is sure to raise curiosity about the cryptic lives of these lowly plants and animals and will encourage us to celebrate how Scotland’s nature is of global importance.”
Cathie Boyd, creative director of the event, added: “Blanket bog has been the main inspiration for this project, be it stunning sphagnum moss or the many millions of tons of carbon which are buried deep below.
“We hope this work shares the beauty and vastness of the Flow Country, a wondrous world largely unknown to many, including myself, when I began this project.
“Thank you to the Peatlands Partnership, RSPB Scotland and RBGE for making this project happen.”
Below the Blanket takes place between July 24 and August 25.
For tickets and further details visit theflowcountry.org.uk/below-the-blanket/
