iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Just a little shop of horrors in the bog — where the plants are hungry and the vibes are fabulously spooky. Did you know that Charles Darwin was fascinated by carnivorous plants in bogs and published a detailed illustrated book about them? If you have encountered them, tell me about it!!

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

BOG ALERT It’s official: Bogland is OUT IN THE US TODAY! I wrote a book about weird, wonderful, squelchy wetlands. There are mosses, mysteries, things preserved for thousands of years (people, butter). And now I get to share all this bog weirdness with you. Are you ready to get bogged down?

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Living Ground The forest floor remembers Fallen leaves unpalm to the next generation Dead wood is busy becoming Beneath us, fungi stitch the dark together Moss builds worlds we miss We look up and call it a forest But down here, nothing is ending

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

BogLife is about finding people who will carry you when the bog gets deep. Tag your bog buddy. #Bogland wwnorton.com/books/bogland profilebooks.com/contributor/...

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Folks, bogs are NOT supposed to look like this (once deliciously squishy Sphagnum). Around the world, they are drained, burned, or are drying out. Boglands need our help and we need them. Please join me. Bogs = clean water, biodiversity, food, history, secure climate wwnorton.com/books/bogland

Photograph of a parched, dessicated Sphagnum bog.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

What if the ground beneath your feet remembers? Bogs aren’t wastelands. They're time capsules; beautiful living systems that preserve food, rituals, travel, climate, and human stories for thousands of years. Today, I wrote about the muck that keeps our history. The New York Times, October 5, 2026

Image of a New York Times article called "The Muck that keeps our History".

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Welcome to Fabulous Fen in the high country of Colorado. Rich fens like this are named after their incredibly rich biodiversity. Please help spread awareness that these wetlands are far from wastelands, but complex and beautiful.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Un-optimized. Moss-covered. Decaying but deeply alive. Reject efficiency, embrace the peat. #BogLife

Image of a sundew plant in Sphagnnum moss.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

NYT Op-ed: "Each has its own voice. A peat swamp in Brunei, on the island of Borneo, hums with insects, birds and frogs, the sound crescendoing to a peak every few minutes like a wild orchestra." We should all listen to the boglands. From www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/o...

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

So the next time you feel stuck, remember: bogs do it best, and they are saving the world because of it. Did you know bogs were this powerful? Drop me a 💚 if you’re ready to defend our wetlands! /fin

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

They force you to slow down: In life, we hate the feeling of being "bogged down" or stuck. But nature uses these spaces to slow things down, store energy, and protect the planet. Sometimes, hitting pause and sinking into the mess is exactly where the magic happens. 4/

Image of my daughter and her dog in a bog.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

They are ancient time capsules: Because of their unique, oxygen-free chemistry, bogs preserve history. They hold onto everything from ancient Iron Age tools and treasures to thousands of years of ecological data, perfectly preserved in time. 3/

Image of sphagnum moss that acidifies its environment.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Here is why getting "bogged down" is actually a superpower: They are climate heroes: Peatlands cover only 3% of the earth's land but store more carbon than all the world's forest biomass combined. Keeping them intact is one of our best defenses against climate change. 2/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

As a scientist, I wish everyone knew that getting ‘bogged down’ isn’t actually a bad thing. Here’s why. 🧵 1/

Image of a scientist - me! - waist deep in peat.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Walking through wet tundra in northern Alaska forces you into the present moment. This ancient ground has its own rhythms. Would you brave this squelch? Let me know. 👇

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

But they are fragile. If we dry, drain, or damage peat archives, we lose one of the planet's greatest natural carbon sinks. I do this research for climate security, and our children's future. To protect their planet, we have to stop looking past the muck and start fighting to defend it. 3/3

Drained peatland for palm oil plantations in Malaysia

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Look past the trees. What lies beneath our feet here is a global climate superpower. These waterlogged peatlands (bogs, fens) occupy a mere 3% of global land area, yet they pack away more carbon than all of the world's forest biomass combined. They are one of Earth's ultimate cooling mechanisms. 2/

A scientist processing a dark organic rich peat core.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I am a mom and scientist begging everyone to look closer at the muck. We’ve been conditioned to see wetlands as wastelands. But three decades of research, I see a fiercely defiant wilderness. The boreal mire is a dynamic carbon-trapping vault that in some places has outlasted ice ages. 1/

A woman scientist - me! - standing over the boreal forest in interior Alaska.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Today, don’t forget to LOOK DOWN, and appreciate what lies beneath your feet. Discover an entire world of unique, powerful life, marching to its own beat. We can't protect what we don't notice.

Image of moss diversity including green feather moss and red Sphagnum moss.

Image of white lichen, green moss and red moss sporophytes.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Fall deeply in love with the vertical archive that is peat, and the incredible life it supports. If you love bogs, moss, and all things peaty, share your thoughts with me!

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Marketed as Boglands with this cover in the UK

Image of the book Boglands in an alpine fen.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A reading from Bogland. Boglands is out in the UK (Profile), soon to be in North America (WWNorton). Picking up your copy this week will help keep this book alive. Join me in a global movement to protect these wild spaces. wwnorton.com/books/bogland profilebooks.com/work/boglands/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Eden Mills Writers Festival here I come! For every day is a great day for bogging, and bog writing.

Image of a suitcase with two book copies.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I am so obsessed with Sphagnum that I wrote a lot about it in Bogland (wwnorton.com/books/bogland). I also spend hours with my nose pressed into moss carpets. Do you have questions about Sphagnum? What did you find most interesting about this thread? /fin

A scientist - me! - with a camera up close and personal with Sphagnum

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Sphagnum creates waterlogged acidic conditions, that allows more moss to grow but prevents its litter from decaying. Over time, this leads to bog formation and peat accumulation, which has cooled Earth's climate. Sphagnum is a CLIMATE HERO we need to respect and treasure. 7/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Sphagnum saves lives. Long used by Indigenous peoples, during WWI, it went from bog to battlefield, becoming a critical wound dressing because of its absorbency and antimicrobial properties. A moss that evolved to manage water in bogs ended up managing wounds on battlefields. 5/

Image of Sphagnum moss sanitary napkin kit. Credit www.facebook.com/groups/1087299761316283/posts/3999889780057252/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

But Sphagnum doesn't just tolerate bog chemistry. It helps create it. Its cell walls exchange positively charged ions such as calcium and magnesium for hydrogen ions. This means nutrients for Sphagnum and harsh conditions for competitors. Win win for the moss. 4/

Photograph of cloudberry on a bed of red Sphagnum

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Sphagnum leaves contain empty hyaline cells. They act like tiny reservoirs, while pores let water move in and out. Sphagnum creates tiny ecosystems from its own cell death: hyaline cells die at maturity, leaving water-filled chambers that become habitats for microscopic life. 2/

Photograph of red and green sphagnum moss

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

What is tiny but has a PLANET-sized influence? Sphagnum of course. A 🧵 on why this moss matters more than ever. Holding more than 20× its dry weight in water, halting decay, shaping entire ecosystems, thwarting fire. Never underestimate a moss. 1/

Close up image of a tiny red Sphagnum moss.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Rain on a bog pond and a short passage from Bogland reminding us to slow down and appreciate the unusual beauty of wetlands. wwnorton.com/books/bogland profilebooks.com/work/boglands/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Want to learn about permafrost thaw and how it affects land and water? Follow me for more videos like this, where I give you a personal glimpse into the science of permafrost, why it is truly the backbone of the Arctic, and what happens when the “perma”’disappears.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I write in more detail about these unique plants in Bogland. Did you know that plant carnivory evolved at least a dozen times independently in the plant kingdom? Modern bog plants are a portal into this novel roadmap. 7/7 Profilebooks.com/work/boglands wwnorton.com/books/bogland

Image of the front cover of Boglands, now out in the UK.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Because they are nutrient poor, bogs can be full of these tiny killers that flip the food web upside down. If soils can’t supply nutrients like nitrogen, reach out and grab a bug! Insectivory is often a supplemental source for these plants, not the entire source of plant-nutrients. 6/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Sundews can sense what they have caught. Touch and chemicals trigger a feeding frenzy in slow mo. Neighboring tentacles can bend toward the prey, helping to digest its tissues. Plants aren't static statues; they move in surprising, active ways every day. 5/

Image of a sundew among brown Sphagnum moss.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Charles Darwin was obsessed with these plants. He fed them and tickled them in experiments, and wrote an entire book about them, their physiology and habitat. He once wrote to a colleague - "I care more about Drosera than the origin of all the species in the world." SUNDEWS ARE THAT CAPTIVATING. 4/

Image of Charles Darwin on a book jacket called the works of Charles Darwin. Credit https://www.wellreadnaturalist.com/2020/02/darwins-insectivorous-plants/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

An insect can "drown" in a single drop. Sundew “dew” is actually a sort of glue or sticky substance. Once an insect touches it, the trap slowly closes around its struggling body. The doomed insect in this photo is now prey, captured by one of the world's tiniest predators. 3/

An insect trapped in the digestive drops of a sundew plant.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The genus name for sundews is Drosera, which comes from Greek drosos, meaning "dew" or "dewdrops". Sundews look like flowers made of jewels, but those ruby red leaves are armed with thousands of sticky tentacles, each tipped with a glistening drop of digestive fluid. 2/

A 1cm tall sundew with droplets around in in a bed of Sphagnum moss.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Happy Sundew Sunday! Want to learn 5 super cool facts about miniature-yet-so-complex sundew plants? Follow along to learn some unusual botany. 🧵 1/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

BOG WALKERS UNITE! The same precarious, waterlogged conditions make peatlands powerful: they store a HUGE FRACTION of global soil carbon (>30%) in a tiny landbase (3%). To learn more, please check out Bogland: wwnorton.com/books/bogland profilebooks.com/work/boglands

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Permafrost (frozen ground) is thawing, triggering huge changes across Alaskan landscapes. Find out how and why as I trek across collapsing permafrost bogs. I write more about this and other climate trends like underground zombie fires that outlast winter in Bogland (wwnorton.com/books/bogland).

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

100% One of my top tips for becoming a bog champion in the book!

Image of the US and UK versions of the book Bogland

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

To become a BOG CHAMPION and protect these misunderstood yet essential ecosystems, please pick up a copy of Bogland, which has a bog bucket list of things you can do (and great spots to visit, to give a big thanks to the bog this fall). wwnorton.com/books/bogland profilebooks.com/work/boglands/ 6/6

Image of the two covers of the book Bogland

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

BUT, industrial harvesting and drainage turn these food oases into flammable tinderboxes. When we destroy them for cheap garden compost, we lose our best natural flood defense and unleash millennia of stored carbon. This fall, skip peat-based garden soil and protect our soggy climate heroes. 5/

Photograph of a drained bog for oil plantations in Borneo

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

HARVEST SHIELD: As autumn rains nourish late-season crops, peatlands act as massive natural sponges. Covering just 3% of global land, they absorb heavy rain to prevent downstream farm flooding, while storing twice as much carbon as ALL THE WORLD'S FORESTS COMBINED. Please thank a bog today. 🌍💦 4/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

BLACK MARSH HARVEST 🚜 Organic-rich peat, or muck soils, are the secret engine behind your dinner table. This month, peat-rich areas like Canada's Holland Marsh and England's Fens harvest massive yields of field corn, crisp celery, carrots, & potatoes. Thank PEAT the next time you eat these foods. 3/

Image of organic rich muck soils. Credit https://www.wisconsinwetlands.org/updates/learning-what-kind-of-wetland-soils-you-have/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

BOGS' CULINARY BOUNTY includes the iconic cranberry harvest. Farmers flood the bogs, using the fruit's natural air pockets to make billions of cranberries float to the surface in vibrant red lakes. Wild blueberries, cranberries, cloudberries, & huckleberries also thrive in these acidic soils. 2/

Photograph of a cranberry bog in Muskoka Ontario. Credit: https://todoontario.com/cranberry-season-in-muskoka/

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Move over, pumpkin spice: September belongs to the BOG HARVEST. While many flock to apple orchards, the world’s peatlands are hitting their peak. Far from muddy swamps; bogs are the secret agricultural powerhouses you didn't know you needed. Join me in protecting these undervalued landscapes! 🧵 1/

Photograph of ripening cloudberries on a bog surface.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Want to become a BOG CHAMPION? In "Bogland: The Secret World that Defies Death and Protects Life", we explore things you can do to save bogs. Because saving a bog means saving a piece of ourselves: where we came from and where we are headed. wwnorton.com/books/bogland 6/6

Image of the two covers of Bogland, one in North America and one in the UK.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

THE PROBLEM. We lose bogs every day to drainage and development. When bogs dry out, the script is flipped and they begin to release millennia of stored carbon back to the atmosphere. Protecting bogs is a low-tech, high-impact climate solution. Stop draining, start rewetting. 5/

Drained bog for palm oil plantations in Malaysia Borneo.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Bogs are INNOVATORS. They host highly specialized, otherworldly species. Think carnivorous sundews that eat insects, amphibian eating pitcher plants, and fluffy cotton grass that would inspire Dr. Suess. In bogs, the food web is flipped upside down. 4/

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