Aldo Leopold, considered by some to be the father of wildlife ecology and modern conservation, once said “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” Few parts of the world bear such deep ecological wounds as the British Isles, considered to be among the most nature-depleted parts of the world. Aside from ecological degradation, Britain is also considered one of the most nature-disconnected parts of the world, which speaks to our fractured relationship with nature.
It wasn’t always this way, and our relationship with the natural word today is far removed from that of our animist ancestors, who viewed the natural world as an extended web of relationality, engendering a sense of reverence and respect. When our hunter-gatherer ancestors turned their back on this way of life and started farming, it fundamentally changed their relationship with nature. Instead of being viewed as something sacred, nature was instead seen as a resource, to be tamed, controlled and dominated. Some perceive the arrival of Christianity on our shores as further fanning the flames of disconnect and dominion over nature. But the natural world’s loss was ours too.
Agriculture was underpinned by domestication of wild plants and animals, but this process cut both ways, and we domesticated ourselves in the process. The shift to agriculture coincided with the growth of urban centres, with people living increasingly far removed from the rhythms of nature. We existed apart from nature, rather than as a part of nature. As a result, we have stifled a wildness intrinsic to our psychological makeup or spirit that was native to our ancestors.
This ongoing domestication has led to the erosion of our wild places, and with it our own spiritual bedrock. In spite of all we have gained from the advent of agriculture, this is one of its overlooked costs, with there only being the tiniest fragments of truly wild and untamed nature to be found in a highly managed and manicured British landscape.
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Support independent eco journalism that drives real change.With the advent and spread of agriculture in the British Isles around 6,000 years ago, forests began to be cleared to make way for pasture and crops. Today, only a fraction of our ancient woodlands remain, and Britain is one of the most under-forested nations in Europe. One of our rarest and most precious woodland ecosystems is the Atlantic temperate rainforest.
Although a more familiar habitat in centuries past, the loss of both the forest and our awareness of it has led to an amnesia in our collective memory, due to the corrosive impact of shifting baseline syndrome. While many of us Brits may not be aware that we share our island home with rainforest, in the words of one champion of this habitat, Merlin Hanbury-Tenison: “We are a rainforest people, who live in a rainforest nation”.
Rainforests of Britain - Jewels of the Countryside
These forests occur where there is heavy rainfall, spread out evenly over much of the year. These conditions hinge on the oceanic influence of the Atlantic, which provides moisture-laden air to the western seaboard of Britain and makes winters milder. Parts of western Britain are particularly well suited to supporting temperate rainforests, with Britain and Ireland harbouring 40% of the potential range of European rainforest. These forests started to recolonise the western parts of Britain over 11,500 years ago, following the retreat of the ice sheet after the Pleistocene.
The ample and dependable moisture supports a unique assemblage of epiphytes - plants that grow on other plants. These include ferns, lichens and bryophytes such as mosses, liverworts and hornworts, which adorn the canopy and trunks of trees, providing distinctive year round greenness. A rich fragment of temperate rainforest may support up to 200 species of bryophytes, and between 100-200 species of lichen. Many of these are globally rare species, highlighting the conservation value of this rainforest habitat. This community of canopy plants helps the forest environment retain moisture, supporting a stable humid microclimate. These forests also require clean air, with many of these epiphytes being sensitive to air pollution.
The rainforest also supports rare species of fungi, and provides important habitat for migratory birds such as pied flycatchers, wood warblers and redstarts, and mammals such as pine martens, red squirrels, dormice and greater horseshoe bats.
Threats to Rainforests
A globally threatened habitat, temperature rainforests are more threatened than tropical rainforests, covering less than 1% of the terrestrial surface of the Earth, and comprising just 2% of global forest cover.
This forest once covered 20% of the British Isles, growing on the wetter, western seaboard of Britain. Today, only 1% of this habitat remains, in scattered, isolated fragments. Of this 1%, most is in a degraded state, much of it choked with invasive Rhododendron ponticum, its borders nibbled by sheep, young trees overgrazed from within by deer. Air pollution and a changing climate add additional stress to these already imperilled ecosystems, amplified by the fragmented nature of the forest habitat, which are vulnerable to restricted gene flow and edge effects, where climatic conditions are less stable.
Temperate rainforests in England are in need of far greater protection, with 73% not legally protected or recognised as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), leaving only a fraction of the nation’s threatened forest habitat protected. Contested and outdated laws of land ownership also act as a barrier to forest regeneration.
Ecological and Cultural Fruits of the Rainforest
The capacity of these forests to buffer rainfall and hold on to moisture, particularly in the uplands and on hillsides, could help mitigate flooding, particularly if working in tandem with beavers. This is all the more important given that intense rainfall events are only projected to increase in the wake of climate change. These forests and their soils also help lock up carbon, helping buffer against climate change.
Rainforest habitat globally is known to have a profound impact on regional weather systems and rainfall, due to the evapotranspiration of moisture from vegetation into the atmosphere. By increasing the amount of rainforest cover in western Britain, the prevailing south-westerly winds could carry moisture further inland, potentially helping buffer against drought and dampen the notable ‘rain shadow’ in the east of England.
In other parts of the world with coastal forests, there are numerous examples of ‘trees to seas’ connections (and vice versa). For example, salmon carry marine nutrients inland via rivers, which in turn can benefit the forest, and nutrient inputs from forest runoff help feed marine phytoplankton, which underpin marine food chains, and with this, the fisheries on which humans depend. By restoring these forests, the ecological benefits obtained may spread far beyond the boundaries of the forests themselves.
Their ecological value aside, these temperate rainforests - also referred to in Britain as Celtic rainforests - are an important part of our cultural heritage. In ancient times they inspired myths and folklore, enshrined in the Mabinogion legends and revered by the Druids, and inspiring poets such as William Wordsworth and writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien.
Forests may also support rural economies, providing multiple potential income streams, and sustainable economic alternatives to farming in otherwise remote and out of the way locations.
The Temperate Rainforests of Southwest England - A Short Documentary
Sanctuaries of Healing
In addition to their ecological, cultural and economic benefits, these forests can act as sanctuaries of healing. The healing power of nature has been long recognised and is well evidenced by scientific research. Immersion in forest settings is known for its restorative effects, reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol, decreasing blood pressure, improving mood and boosting natural killer cell activity for immune support. Various sensory elements of forest settings work in synergy, such as the soothing effects of phytoncides (organic compounds released by trees), the fractal forms of tree branches and the sound of birdsong.
Immersion in forest settings to improve health and well-being is intentionally cultivated through the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, or forest bathing, which encourages practitioners to slow down and tune in to the forest setting through their various senses.
Spending time in areas that harbour greater biodiversity and ecological complexity with a more diverse range of natural features (such as trees, birds, plants and waterways - all plentiful in rainforest habitats) has also been linked to greater mental health benefits when compared to areas harbouring less natural diversity.
An outspoken advocate of rainforest restoration is Merlin Hanbury-Tenison. Following three tours of Afghanistan with the Army, and stepping into a highly demanding and stressful corporate job in London on his return, he had a breakdown in 2017 and was diagnosed with complex PTSD.
He sought refuge at his family farm on the edge of Dartmoor in Cornwall, which harbours a relatively pristine fragment of temperate rainforest. Peat core sampling suggests there has been forest cover at this site for over 3,500 years, making it one of the more ancient and pristine fragments of wilderness to be found in the British landscape, making it incredibly precious.
He established the Thousand Year Trust, which is dedicated to the restoration of temperate rainforest landscapes, seeking to triple the amount of temperate rainforest growing across the UK over the next thirty years.
Merlin found healing from his trauma through spending time immersed in the rainforest, as did his wife Lizzie, processing her own trauma, stemming from a number of miscarriages. In his book, Our Oaken Bones, he recounts the experience of another military veteran, knotted up with severe PTSD, which partly manifested itself in the form of chronic back pain. A brief course of somatic therapy - encompassing movement practice to facilitate a deeper mind-body connection - and sound therapy, applied in the forest setting, provided deep and lasting relief from the physical and emotional pain he had been carrying.
Spending time in any woodland environment is likely to be soothing and restorative, but something that sets immersion in an ancient, pristine forest setting apart is the profound potency of its healing potential, as suggested by these accounts. PTSD is an intractable condition, with existing medical and therapeutic interventions often falling short; the brain rewires itself in a detrimental attempt at self-defense.
While psychedelic substances (administered in a therapeutic or shamanic context) such as MDMA, ayahuasca and psilocybin have shown early promise in treating PTSD, these substances exert profoundly powerful effects upon the brain and psyche. That immersion in a fragment of ancient, pristine forest environment can elicit equivalent effects for some people speaks to the depth of its transformative potential. This could make such areas ideal settings for ecotherapy.
At the same time, the great rarity of such fragments of wilderness within a British landscape so stripped of all wildness suggests we have impoverished ourselves of something profoundly healing. The “world of wounds” that Aldo Leopold spoke of runs deeper than ecological wounds alone.
According to government figures, 73% of woodland in England has no public access. If people are to benefit from such settings, they will need to be made more accessible. However this must go hand-in-hand with promoting ecological literacy. Temperate rainforests are more sensitive to disturbance than other British woodland habitats, and if they are to be used as sanctuaries of healing, it is imperative that they are not harmed in the process, and are treated with the utmost respect and care. When visiting them, wander slowly, tread tenderly, take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.
Another champion of British rainforests and a tireless campaigner on their behalf is Guy Shrubsole, author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain. Speaking in The Guardian, he stated:
“I definitely want to convey the extreme importance of being very careful and treating these places with utmost respect. But we also have to be reconnected with nature. … It’s not a viable restoration strategy to wall them all off and hope that no one ever visits them. The solution to honeypot sites being overwhelmed is ultimately to create more of these amazing habitats.”
Restoring the forests and a wilder future
The high rainfall of the western seaboard of Britain leaches soils in these areas, which tend to be poor in nutrients and acidic. They are therefore areas of poorer agricultural productivity, with sheep farming tending to dominate. Sheep farming is a high-cost, low-return agricultural practice propped up by government subsidies. It exists on an economic knife edge that is only sharpening with time, with the numbers of farmed sheep in the UK declining. Providing space for the regeneration of these forests will not require the sacrifice of any prime agricultural land.
While low-intensity grazing by sheep can potentially have some positive effects on plant biodiversity, high density grazing has a much more destructive effect on the plant community. If these forests are to expand their borders, sheep will have to be excluded.
Cattle breeds suited to grazing in such areas would be a superior alternative livestock to sheep if prioritising forest regeneration. The primary ancestor of domestic sheep is the mouflon, which isn’t native to Britain, while the wild extinct ancestor of domestic cattle, the auroch, was native. Given that our plant communities have had a long association with bovines, they may be better suited to maintaining plant biodiversity than sheep.
Heavy browsing pressure from a superabundance of deer is a major cause of ecological damage in Britain, preventing natural forest regeneration. In centuries past, deer numbers would have been kept in check by predators. Britain is one of the very few parts of the world that lacks all its mammalian apex predators. If we are unwilling to reintroduce our lost predators such as lynx, which could play a helpful role in controlling numbers of deer, then it is up to humans to step in to take the place of these apex predators and more effectively control deer numbers.
A recent study demonstrated the speed and scale of natural forest regeneration under passive rewilding at two sites of formerly arable land adjacent to ancient woodland. Natural regeneration occurred over a few decades, with the structural characteristics of the older site resembling those of the ancient woodland after just a half a century of abandonment. Birds and mammals acted as important seed dispersal vectors of oaks and berry-bearing shrubs, with other tree seeds spread via wind. These findings indicate that if grazing pressure in areas adjacent to existing rainforest fragments is reduced, the forests are likely to expand their borders without much need for further human input.
Isolated forest fragments would greatly benefit from being re-connected. Fragmentation and isolation limit gene flow, which in turn makes trees more vulnerable to disease, and the forest ecosystem more vulnerable to climate change. Reconnecting forest fragments will also support the dispersal of otherwise rare and localised bryophytes and lichens.
In order to achieve this, greater collaboration between landowners, farmers and conservation organisations is needed to ensure forests can be linked and restored more widely across the landscape. Existing rainforest fragments would greatly benefit from being cleared of Rhododendron. While easier said than done, this is vital to assure the long-term integrity of the little rainforest habitat that remains.
Pushing for Change
Given the general lack of awareness of our lost rainforests among the general public, education has an important role to play, and will be a necessary step to push back against the insidious force of shifting baseline syndrome.
There is major public support for the protection and restoration of Britain’s temperate rainforest, with one YouGov poll revealing that 93% of people surveyed support the protection of Britain’s remaining rainforests, with 85% supporting their expansion. If all the people in support of rainforest restoration were to contact their MP to call for change, they would be forced to reckon with.
More pressure could also be applied to relevant government departments, some of which are the largest landowners in the UK, including the Forestry Commission (owning over 2.2 million acres) and the Ministry of Defense (owning around 1.1 million acres). Separately to this, the Crown Estate owns over 678,000 acres of land. Between them, they own a little under 4 million acres of land, a significant portion of the UK, with much of this being under-developed and marginal land, well suited to ecological restoration and reforestation efforts. Efforts undertaken by these major landholders to restore rainforest habitats could be hugely impactful.
Other large chunks of the UK’s land are owned by organisations such as the National Trust (610,000 acres), the RSPB (300,000 acres), the Woodland Trust (75,000 acres) and the county Wildlife Trusts (243,000 acres). While all of these organisations are deeply committed to nature restoration efforts, their focus can vary by region, and could benefit from a more unified, cohesive and singular shared focus. Becoming a member of such organisations, volunteering for them and badgering the senior membership with calls for restoring forests is another means of exerting positive pressure for change.
That leaves farmers and private landowners. Motivation and enthusiasm for restoring forests will vary, but if policies, regulation and subsidies are in place to support restoration efforts and make them economically viable, positive behaviour and actions are likely to follow in step. Government bodies work for us, and it is up to us to influence and steer them. Given all the ecosystem services and benefits that rainforests provide, there should be much more government funding available to assure their protection and restoration.
Beyond these steps, as Merlin Hanbury-Tenison points out: "...a person’s impact is only limited by their energy, belief and motivation. Become an MP rather than writing to one. Write a book rather than reading one. Found a charity rather than volunteering for one. There is no limit to what people can achieve if they just begin down the path. Lots and lots of tiny steps make a marathon."
The polymath and Nobel Prize writer Rabindranath Tagore once said “The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” When it comes to the restoration of Britain’s rainforests, we would do well to heed this insight, as this will be a long-term endeavour. We often contemplate how actions in the past might have shaped the present. Much less consideration is given to how our actions today might positively ripple into the future. Working towards the restoration of our rainforest in Britain would be a potent means of creating positive change now, the ripples of which will spread far into the future.
Resources:
The Lost Rainforests of Britain - Guy Shrubsole
Coedwigoedd Glaw Celtaidd Cymru / Celtic Rainforests Wales
