‘Literally growing the future’: volunteers help save Scottish rainforest by collecting 11m seeds
A small band of volunteers has helped to grow nearly 8m native trees in Scotland, crucial to efforts to restore lost parts of the Atlantic rainforest, after collecting 11m seeds by hand.
About 100 volunteers, including retired teachers and doctors, office workers and young families, have spent tens of thousands of hours venturing into often remote woods in the western Highlands and islands to search out seed-bearing trees.
They have used detailed maps compiled by NatureScot and Scottish Forestry that identify pockets of ancient woodland, often in exposed, challenging locations, scrambling up hillsides to find the right specimens.
They search for a select range of trees, known to have colonised Scotland after the last ice age: hazel, sessile oak, dwarf birch, willow, juniper, birch, wild cherry, wych elm, yew and elder.
The ecologists involved said these trees have inherited the genetic resilience to survive in specific microclimates and soil types along Scotland’s Atlantic coast – an advantage non-native trees would lack, particularly as the climate changes.
The latest surveys suggest only 30,000 hectares of original Atlantic rainforest, a rare temperate habitat adapted to the UK’s moist coastal environment, survives. Now the focus of multimillion-pound restoration projects, those pockets have been meticulously mapped within distinct seed zones devised by forestry experts.
The seeds have been collected, graded and checked by the rewilding organisation Trees for Life at its tree nursery at Dundreggan near Inverness, with the finished saplings sent back out to the correct zones.
The Woodland Trust has taken saplings for reforesting projects – including Gleann Shìldeag and Assynt in Wester Ross, Beò Airceig, a 30,000-hectare restoration around Loch Arkaig in Lochaber – and sold to scores of crofters planting small woods on former grazing land.
Sheena Macaulay, a biology graduate who lives near Oban, is one of those volunteers. A former IT manager at Scottish Power’s Cruachan hydro station, she combines seed-hunting with butterfly conservation, crouching down to spot the larvae of marsh fritillaries and burnet moths as she walked on one seed collection outing near Oban.
“We need to regenerate for the generations coming behind us,” she said. “I mentioned it to my neighbours and one actually joined up as well. Another friend down in Glasgow, she joined a group down there. So, rather than moaning about climate change, actually do something.”
Her team was supervised by Roz Birch, the volunteer coordinator with Trees for Life, who uses these outings to deliver impromptu biology lessons, pulling down branches and splaying leaves, or digging through seeds and nuts proffered by volunteers on their open palms.
She has become expert in spotting the differences between Scottish native sessile oak and common, or English, oak; volunteers are shown how far sessile oak acorns and leaves sit from the twig. A moss-laden tree nearby offers a lesson on temperate rainforest ecology, with its bark home to a compact forest of moss and lichens that thrive in the moist climate.
“You do have really extreme high winds and storms that will pass through. Again, the trees are pretty well adapted to that environment,” Birch explains, pointing at liverwort that has colonised an old, partly severed oak branch.
“The uniqueness of the rainforest zone is there will be bryophytes, lichens, whole ecosystems on these trees and within these woodlands, that you can’t really find anywhere else apart from the west coast of Scotland and Wales and the south-west of England,” she said.
The project is underpinned by rigorous ecology, and close observation of seasonal weather patterns, drawing on the ancient woodland and Caledonian pine inventories.
Sites are often surveyed again and there are clear signs, Birch said, that climate heating means seed ripening happens earlier. A dry spring can stress rowan but turbocharge hawthorn, forcing seed collection dates to shift or be cancelled.
The project fills a significant gap left by commercial or state-sponsored forestry organisations: these locations are too remote or costly for commercial seed collectors to visit, adding to the significance of the specimens Birch’s teams are saving.
Its backers believe the project is the largest citizen-based reforestation programme of its kind.
Originally conceived as a one-year project, it has now received funding for a fourth, from a coalition of donors including the Postcode Lottery via Woodland Trust Scotland, Trees for Life appeals, the BrITE Foundation and the Clean Planet Foundation.
Another of Birch’s volunteers is Laura Corbe, 47, a marine biologist who prizes her time seed-hunting as it requires slowing down and focusing, undistracted, on tree branches and the ground.
“You’re literally growing the future. And that’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? I don’t think people really understand the significance of the rainforest, even people who’ve lived here their whole lives,” she said.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
A volunteer-led seed collection programme in Scotland's western Highlands and islands has yielded 11 million seeds, resulting in the growth of nearly 8 million native trees for Atlantic rainforest restoration. Approximately 100 volunteers—including retired teachers, doctors, office workers, and families—have invested tens of thousands of hours collecting seeds from species including hazel, oak, birch, and willow. Working from maps produced by NatureScot and Scottish Forestry, they identify ancient woodland pockets and collect seeds from native trees that evolved to thrive in Scotland's specific coastal microclimates. The collected seeds are processed at Trees for Life's nursery near Inverness and distributed to restoration projects across the Highlands, with some sold to crofters for small woodland planting. The Atlantic rainforest habitat, adapted to the UK's moist coastal environment, now covers only around 30,000 hectares of its original extent. The project addresses a gap left by commercial forestry, as remote locations make seed collection economically unviable for commercial operators. Funded by donors including the Postcode Lottery, Woodland Trust Scotland, and the BrITE Foundation, the programme has secured funding through a fourth year.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
A small band of volunteers has helped to grow nearly 8m native trees in Scotland, crucial to efforts to restore lost parts of the Atlantic rainforest, after collecting 11m seeds by hand.
About 100 volunteers, including retired teachers and doctors, office workers and young families, have spent tens of thousands of hours venturing into often remote woods in the western Highlands and islands to search out seed-bearing trees.
They have used detailed maps compiled by NatureScot and Scottish Forestry that identify pockets of ancient woodland, often in exposed, challenging locations, scrambling up hillsides to find the right specimens.
They search for a select range of trees, known to have colonised Scotland after the last ice age: hazel, sessile oak, dwarf birch, willow, juniper, birch, wild cherry, wych elm, yew and elder.
The ecologists involved said these trees have inherited the genetic resilience to survive in specific microclimates and soil types along Scotland’s Atlantic coast – an advantage non-native trees would lack, particularly as the climate changes.
The latest surveys suggest only 30,000 hectares of original Atlantic rainforest, a rare temperate habitat adapted to the UK’s moist coastal environment, survives. Now the focus of multimillion-pound restoration projects, those pockets have been meticulously mapped within distinct seed zones devised by forestry experts.
The seeds have been collected, graded and checked by the rewilding organisation Trees for Life at its tree nursery at Dundreggan near Inverness, with the finished saplings sent back out to the correct zones.
The Woodland Trust has taken saplings for reforesting projects – including Gleann Shìldeag and Assynt in Wester Ross, Beò Airceig, a 30,000-hectare restoration around Loch Arkaig in Lochaber – and sold to scores of crofters planting small woods on former grazing land.
Sheena Macaulay, a biology graduate who lives near Oban, is one of those volunteers. A former IT manager at Scottish Power’s Cruachan hydro station, she combines seed-hunting with butterfly conservation, crouching down to spot the larvae of marsh fritillaries and burnet moths as she walked on one seed collection outing near Oban.
“We need to regenerate for the generations coming behind us,” she said. “I mentioned it to my neighbours and one actually joined up as well. Another friend down in Glasgow, she joined a group down there. So, rather than moaning about climate change, actually do something.”
Her team was supervised by Roz Birch, the volunteer coordinator with Trees for Life, who uses these outings to deliver impromptu biology lessons, pulling down branches and splaying leaves, or digging through seeds and nuts proffered by volunteers on their open palms.
She has become expert in spotting the differences between Scottish native sessile oak and common, or English, oak; volunteers are shown how far sessile oak acorns and leaves sit from the twig. A moss-laden tree nearby offers a lesson on temperate rainforest ecology, with its bark home to a compact forest of moss and lichens that thrive in the moist climate.
“You do have really extreme high winds and storms that will pass through. Again, the trees are pretty well adapted to that environment,” Birch explains, pointing at liverwort that has colonised an old, partly severed oak branch.
“The uniqueness of the rainforest zone is there will be bryophytes, lichens, whole ecosystems on these trees and within these woodlands, that you can’t really find anywhere else apart from the west coast of Scotland and Wales and the south-west of England,” she said.
The project is underpinned by rigorous ecology, and close observation of seasonal weather patterns, drawing on the ancient woodland and Caledonian pine inventories.
Sites are often surveyed again and there are clear signs, Birch said, that climate heating means seed ripening happens earlier. A dry spring can stress rowan but turbocharge hawthorn, forcing seed collection dates to shift or be cancelled.
The project fills a significant gap left by commercial or state-sponsored forestry organisations: these locations are too remote or costly for commercial seed collectors to visit, adding to the significance of the specimens Birch’s teams are saving.
Its backers believe the project is the largest citizen-based reforestation programme of its kind.
Originally conceived as a one-year project, it has now received funding for a fourth, from a coalition of donors including the Postcode Lottery via Woodland Trust Scotland, Trees for Life appeals, the BrITE Foundation and the Clean Planet Foundation.
Another of Birch’s volunteers is Laura Corbe, 47, a marine biologist who prizes her time seed-hunting as it requires slowing down and focusing, undistracted, on tree branches and the ground.
“You’re literally growing the future. And that’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? I don’t think people really understand the significance of the rainforest, even people who’ve lived here their whole lives,” she said.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
Volunteers have collected 11 million seeds and grown nearly 8 million native trees in Scotland About 100 volunteers have spent tens of thousands of hours collecting seeds in remote woods in the western Highlands and islands Target species include hazel, sessile oak, dwarf birch, willow, juniper, birch, wild cherry, wych elm, yew and elder These native trees have genetic resilience to survive in specific microclimates and soil types along Scotland's Atlantic coast, an advantage non-native trees would lack as climate changes Only 30,000 hectares of original Atlantic rainforest survive Trees for Life processes and distributes seeds to restoration projects The Woodland Trust and private crofters have received saplings for reforestation The project fills a gap left by commercial forestry organisations, as remote locations are too costly for commercial seed collectors The project is believed to be the largest citizen-based reforestation programme of its kind Climate heating is causing earlier seed ripening, requiring shifts in collection dates Volunteers describe the work as 'growing the future' and as meaningful climate action
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗
- Volunteers in Scotland have collected 11 million seeds and grown nearly 8 million native trees to restore Atlantic rainforest habitat in the Highlands and islands
- About 100 volunteers—including retired professionals, office workers, and families—trek to remote woodlands using expert maps to locate seed-bearing native species adapted to Scotland's coastal climate
- Only 30,000 hectares of original Atlantic rainforest survive; the project is believed to be the largest citizen-based reforestation programme of its kind and has secured funding through its fourth year