The first step towards creating a Celtic rainforest – a now extremely rare habitat that once covered large swathes of the west coast of Britain – has been completed in Devon.
More than 2,500 native trees have been planted so far this winter at Devon Wildlife Trust’s Bowden Pillars site, above the Dart valley and close to the green-minded market town of Totnes.
In decades to come, these trees – oak, rowan, alder, hazel, birch, willow and holly – will form a temperate rainforest, sometimes known as a Celtic or Atlantic rainforest.
These rainforests used to cover large parts of Britain, especially its western regions, acting as vital carbon stores by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as being abundant in wildlife, but after many centuries of destruction they now amount to just 1% of the country’s land area.
More than 100 volunteers of all ages devoted hundreds of hours to planting the trees on the 30-hectare (75-acre) site of what were sheep-grazed fields. Eventually the landscape will have 70% tree cover, with the rest becoming open glades, woodland rides and wildflower-rich meadows.
The charity plans to plant a further 4,500 trees by the end of this winter, bringing the total to 7,000, with more to follow in subsequent years.
Claire Inglis, a nature reserve officer at Devon Wildlife Trust who is leading the Bowden Pillars planting project for the charity, said: “It’s been a winter in which we’ve battled storms and snow to plant more than 2,500 trees and begin the transformation of Bowden Pillars to a place which offers a home to nature and is vital resource for local communities.
“Crucial in this transformation have been local people who have worked so hard in all conditions to get the trees in the ground. We’ve had youth groups visit to help us, along with people from local communities and our loyal band of south Devon volunteers.
“The mature temperate rainforest will take several decades to become established, but the gains for nature will be much swifter. The mix of young trees in among grass pastures and hedges, along with our commitment not to use pesticides and artificial fertilisers, will be better for local moths, butterflies and bees, along with farmland birds such as yellowhammers and barn owls. It will be fascinating to see how it develops.”
Temperate rainforests support an abundance of wildlife, including birds such as the pied flycatcher, woodcock and redstart, while their damp conditions mean mosses, liverworts, lichens, ferns and fungi thrive on the trees as well as the forest floor.
The planting project at Bowden Pillars is part of a long-term nationwide rainforest restoration effort by The Wildlife Trusts, with similar planting projects taking place in Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Pembrokeshire, as well as in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Each tree has been protected from the nibbling of deer and rabbits with biodegradable tree tubes made from the offcuts from the timber industry, rather than the plastic guards normally employed. The young trees have also been raised from seed locally, many by the Dartmoor-based charity Moor Trees.
Helen Aldis, the chief executive of Moor Trees, said: “We hope that by including trees that have adapted to an environment where temperate rainforests thrive, they will bring the same resilience and biodiversity to this vital and ambitious new planting scheme on the edge of Totnes.”
Public access to Bowden Pillars is limited to footpaths and bridleways. Devon Wildlife Trust said it planned to change this as the site developed, using it as a place for education.
The project is being done in partnership with the insurance company Aviva.
