Work starts to bring back lost rainforest to fell

Work has started to bring back a lost temperate rainforest to a Lake District fell.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust officially bought more than 3,000 acres of Skiddaw Forest near Keswick, including its 931m (3,054ft) summit, after a successful fundraising campaign.

Peat surveys from Cambridge University scientists have already taken place to identify which plants and trees used to grow on one of England's highest mountains.

Stephen Trotter, CEO of the trust, said the work was part of a long-term project which would "come to maturity well into the next century".

Mr Trotter said extensive surveys would include work on water quality and flow rates to check the extent of peatland erosion.

Volunteers started collecting seeds in the autumn with more opportunities for community involvement in the new year.

The trust said native seeds will be taken to new tree-growing hubs in Plumgarths near Kendal, Cold Springs Community Nature Reserve in Penrith and a site near Keswick.

Once grown they will form part of the new temperate rainforest at Skiddaw.

Mr Trotter said: "We're starting by carrying out in-depth, baseline surveys across the site, from small mammals such as otters, weasels and stoats, to the so-called lower plants such as bryophytes, lichens and liverworts which play a vital role in the ecosystem."

Restoration plans include bringing back 620 acres of lost Atlantic Rainforest to the lower slopes of Skiddaw Forest.

A further 2,200 acres of other habitat will be restored including montane scrub, wildflower grassland, heather moorland and almost 1,000 acres of peatbogs.

The purchase, which saw the charity raise £1.25m in just six weeks on top of £5m already secured, made Skiddaw the highest nature reserve in England.

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