Planting 30,000 Trees Surpasses Goal for Regenerating a Rainforest on the p Isle of Man
3 years ago this month, GNN reported that a UK land trust had set the goal of reforesting a 70 acre “celtic rainforest” on the Isle of Man. 30,000 trees later, the effort exceeded expectations and finished ahead of schedule. The budding rainforest instead stretches 100 acres across an area called Creg y Cowin, owned by the Manx Wildlife Trust, which owns three properties for the sake of conservation.
Temperate rainforests are one of the rarest kinds of ecosystems worldwide, and in the UK are found in Wales, on the Isle of Man, and a few other locations. MWT chief executive Graham Makepeace-Warne spoke with the BBC about how best to categorize the ecosystem, describing something akin to the forests of the American Pacific Northwest. “Temperate rainforests can be described as plants growing on plants, growing on plants,” he said.
It will take around 50 years for the trees to reach the level of maturity where that lush microclimate can be seen, a date too far off for some of the volunteers, many of whom brought their children with them to show them what they had hopefully secured for their posterity. “To plant 30,000 trees in three years in incredible work, our volunteers should be really proud of that,” Makepeace-Warne said. “I love the idea of them coming back with their kids, when it is a proper woodland, that they can enjoy—that’s a lovely idea.”