Peatbogs will be given a unique voice by an innovative project that seeks to portray scientific data through art.

When Peat Speaks is led by Aberystwyth University Art lecturer, Miranda Whall.

It will highlight the environmental significance of peatbogs, their fragility, and their vital role in the climate crisis.

The project will use scientific data gathered by Aberystwyth University scientists from 32 plots of peatland at the University’s Pwllpeiran Upland Research Centre in the Cambrian Mountains.

The project will express the scientific data through visual art – expanded drawing and sculpture which will form series of musical scores, two creative workshops with young people, and a documentary film.

It will culminate in May 2026 with a multimedia immersive performance by an international ensemble.

When Peat Speaks: A Boggy Ensemble will be staged on the peatbog at dusk, and will explore the peatland’s ecological and cultural importance through performance art, music/sonic improvisation, and Butoh dance.

Miranda Whall said: “I am really excited about this project, which is the next phase of my work to translate natural phenomena into creative art forms.

“By working at the intersection of art and science, I hope to demonstrate the role that the arts have in climate action, and to contribute to the conversation around greenhouse gas removal.

“Peat is the unsung hero in the climate crisis story.

“As well as being vital for carbon capture, it holds untold stories and secrets embedded in its layers, preserved over millennia, and this project will reveal and celebrate these unique aspects of peat.”

Also involved in the project are Mariecia Fraser, Professor in Upland Agroecosystems at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, and several artistic collaborators.

It has been supported from CO2RE, the UK’s national research hub on Greenhouse Gas Removal which is funded by UK Research and Innovation.