Manx Wildlife Trust Volunteers Plant 30,000 Trees in Three Years to Restore Temperate Rainforest

Volunteers with the Manx Wildlife Trust have planted 30,000 mixed-native trees across 105 acres on the Isle of Man, completing a major reforestation project in just three years instead of the anticipated five. The effort at Creg y Cowin aims to restore the island's rare temperate rainforest ecosystem, which once covered around 20% of the country but now occupies less than 1%. Graham Makepeace-Warne, chief executive of the Manx Wildlife Trust, praised the volunteers' incredible work. The restored forest is expected to provide benefits including flood defense, improved water quality, enhanced biodiversity, and positive impacts on physical and mental health. The project is part of the broader Temperate Rainforest Restoration Programme, a long-term initiative led by The Wildlife Trusts, which received approximately £38.9 million (about $52.7 million) from insurance company Aviva. Future restoration sites include Glion Darragh and Glen Auldyn Reserves on the Isle of Man and Bwlch Mawr in Wales. Livestock will be excluded from the site for about 15 years to allow the young trees to become established, and the forest is projected to take half a century to fully mature.