Why Isle of Man is 'ideal' for building rainforests

The Isle of Man's climate and geography make it almost "100% suitable for temperate rainforest", the head of a wildlife charity says after volunteers helped plant tens of thousands of trees.

The project by the Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) saw 30,000 trees planted over three years at the Creg y Cowin reserve, a 105-acre (42-hectare) site bought by the charity in 2023.

The area was previously used for low-grade grazing and, sitting between two rivers with limited agricultural value, was identified as an ideal spot for rainforest restoration.

MWT chief executive Graham Makepeace-Warne said the project needed two things, "tree planting and time" and it had been supported by hundreds of volunteers.

Makepeace-Warne said the woodland would take decades to fully establish, but the survival rates of the trees so far had been very high, in some places reaching up to 98%.

Speaking at Creg y Cowin, he said the island sat in a unique position within a band of rainforest-friendly conditions stretching along the coasts of Britain and Ireland.

What makes the island suitable?

Makepeace-Warne said the Isle of Man's position was "slap bang in the middle" of the temperate rainforest zone, between the western seaboard of England, Scotland, and Wales and the eastern seaboard of Ireland.

That made it particularly well suited to restoration, he said, pointing to the island's consistently wet and mild weather as a key factor.

"Someone described temperate rainforests as plants growing on plants growing on plants," he said.

Early signs such as mosses, lichens and ferns growing on existing trees was a "really good indicator" of suitability, he added.

"It takes a particular climate," added conservationist Carl Rowlinson, who worked on similar projects in Cornwall.

He described the region as a "Goldilocks zone" where it "never gets too cold, never gets too hot", with high rainfall supporting woodland growth.

How significant is the project?

Makepeace-Warne said the Creg y Cowin area marked a large scale development but, looking ahead, bigger targets were in sight.

The recent acquisition of an area at Glen Auldyn was similar but "on a massive scale", he explained.

The Creg y Cowin project is operating under a 100-year framework, with trees expected to take 50 to 75 years to mature.

"Some of us won't be around then," he said, but added lasting environmental change depended on thinking long term.

He said if the project was going to succeed then "we've got to think like nature".

Why aren't they already here?

Makepeace-Warne said that while someone might not think of vast and luscious rainforests in the Isle of Man, such ecosystems once covered almost all of the Celtic island.

But, he said, tree loss over centuries had left some areas with less than 1% woodland cover. This, he said, was due centuries of human activity such as farming and timber use.

What difference will it make?

Carl Rowlinson is at the forefront of a woodland restoration project in Cornwall called Plant One, and recently visited the island to learn and share ideas.

He said conservation had often treated habitats in isolation, separating rivers, land, and marine environments.

But, he said, he wanted to promote "conservation to restoration", which means linking "everything that's happening on the ground to everything that's happening out to ocean".

Rowlinson said restoring woodland could improve soil health, reduce flooding and limit pollution entering waterways, with potential knock-on effects for marine ecosystems.

"They're all connected," he continued, adding: "It's kind of one ecosystem rather than a load of fragmented ecosystems."

The long-term aim at Creg y Cowin is to create a functioning ecosystem that balances environmental and agricultural needs.

Once the trees are established, it is hoped livestock can return to the land.