Late last year, Tim Durham made contact with Bord na Móna, specifically the ecologist Mark McCorry seeking permission to create an art work on the subject of rewilding exhausted Bord na Móna bogs. Coincidentally, at the same time, Bord na Móna announced an accelerated programme for stopping all peat extraction in Ireland, stopping first the extraction of peat for fuel and then moving on to peat-moss extraction for horticulture and agriculture use. Because of the immediacy of the changes to Bord na Móna’s role, Tim's thoughts moved from an ecology project to a people-based project.

Tim proposes to create a collection of portraits made of the current workers, the last of a long line involved in industrial peat and turf extraction in the Lisclogher, Bracklin, Craddenstown and Hill of Down bogs. To accompany the portraits there will be landscape images of the bog.  A portfolio box of portrait and landscape images will be presented to library for use in their resource room. Digital copies of the images will also be made available to Westmeath County Council Library Service and Arts Office for sharing online.

All photography in this project can be completed with social distancing considerations.

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.