The peatlands ecosystem stores an incredible amount of the world’s soil carbon, on a very small portion of the land’s surface. As mosses and plants decay, peat is slowly formed. The mosses that grow on the peatlands help filter out pollution from the air and water and form underground anaerobic conditions, ideal for preservation. It hosts a vital habitat for us all, most certainly not a wasteland.
At the end of my residency, I buried some selected foods (butter and cheese) in what is currently classified as peat soil on Cove Park’s land. An engraved slate stone marks the spot and acts as a physical invitation to join the upcoming public feast in 2030.
With this project I want to explore the importance of the peatlands and how it can provide a new perception of time.
This website is a work in progress, as I will be continously updating it with new research and documentation of the project.
/Josefin Vargö
How can we highlight connections between the peatlands with our water and food sources in order to transform a broken ecosystem and tackle the climate change?
On February 1st, I ended my residency at Cove Park burying foods (butter and cheese) in the ground, on site, marking an upcoming peatland feast in 2030.
During the past decade there has been several discoveries, in Scotland and Ireland, of thousands of years old ‘bog butters’ that have been well-preserved in peat soil. It was also common practice among the Vikings to use peat as a way of preserving food while travelling onboard ships.
I decided to bury Scottish store-bought butter and cheese, in order to more easily compare its state and change when digging it up in 2030.
Most of the soil where I buried the foods would most likely be described as clay soil, rather than peat soil. However, according to the latest mapping of Scotlands soil, it is classified as being carbon-rich and having deep peat.
The buried food will stay put in the ground until 2030, when I will arrange a public peatland feast at Cove Park.
If you wish to join the feast please send you rsvp to josefin@josefinvargo.com and I will keep you updated with news connected to the feast.
Photography: Alan Dimmick
Buried materials: Terracotta clay pot, small slate stones found on site, engraved slate stone with acrylic paint, steralised cotton fabric, white ceramic plate from Cove Park, sphagnum moss, weaved common rush pick outside the studio, jute thread, slightly salted butter from Graham’s and Somerset Mature Cheddar.
Thanks: A big thank you to Angharad Ward, who works as Peatlands Sites Manager/Peatland Action Project Officer at act now.
- Other project: Chef Ben Reade in Sweden
- Process: Dyed a linen cloth in the nearby peat soils (what
- is classified as peat soils) for 5 days. The cloth went from a
- bright white colour to a light beige colour. My guess is that
- the colour would be more intense the longer it stayed in
- the ground. The cloth has been washed and fixed with
- some vinegar.
- Cloth: 100% Linen, secondhand from Stockholm, Sweden
- Location: Cove Park, Scotland
- Background: Rhododendron ponticum is an invasive to the
- peatlands, destroys the natural habitat and degrades the
- soil.
- Process: I picked som rhododendron around Cove Park,
- dried the stems for a week and then put them on top of
- glowing coal in Cove Parks fireplace.
- Research: Find more information of how to make coal here
- and about other coal making projects here.
- Process: One of the reasons why I choose the year 2030 is
- because the next global target goal for sustainable
- development is set for 2030. The feast will be a time to
- reflect over what has happened to the peatlands over these
- upcoming six years.
- Links: More about the global target goals for sustainable
- development 2030 can be found here.