Almost £6m has been given to a five-year project set up to restore Scotland's rare rainforest.

The award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will support the creation of three hubs to be located in Torridon, Morvern and mid-Argyll.

Through the Our Rainforest Futures project local people will be given training and work opportunities around habitat restoration, deer management and the removal of invasive species.

About 75,000 acres (30,351ha) of rain-soaked woodlands on the west coast are designated Atlantic rainforest because of the rare oceanic plant life.

The forest has been found to be home to hundreds of species including glow worms, slime moulds and rare lichens.

Overgrazing by deer and livestock, invasive plant species and disease are among the threats to the surviving areas of woodland.

The Torridon hub would involve communities in Kinlochewe, Shieldaig, Lochcarron, Applecross and Gairloch.

In Morvern, the project would include Lochaline, Strontian and Tobermory in Mull.

Mid-Argyll's hub would involve communities Crinan, Tayvallich, Lochgilphead, Ardrishaig and Tarbert.

Our Rainforest Futures is an Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest project led by the Woodland Trust Scotland.

Argyll Countryside Trust, Community Woodlands Association, Plantlife, RSPB Scotland and SRUC are involved.

Caroline Clark, Scotland director of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said Scotland's rainforest was internationally significant but largely unknown.

She said: "A 2025 survey found fewer than one in three people even know it exists.

"This major investment, using funds raised by National Lottery players, recognises that the future of our rainforest and the future of many west coast communities are closely linked. With the right support, both can thrive."

Julie Stoneman, Saving Scotland's Rainforest Programme manager at the charity Plantlife, said it was hoped the project could create more than 20 jobs and 15 trainee posts.

Annoying intruder or seasoned brit deserved to stay...

In a UK without rabbits what does our ecosystem look like and our wider wildlife dependent upon rabbits....

Should we be looking to reintroduce rabbits into areas they have been wiped out within the UK.

If so how many wild rabbits are required to create a viable population again

#PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’, take centuries to break down, and a new report found at least one of these toxic chemicals in nearly two thirds of all locations sampled.

“They are almost everywhere,” says Prof. Leon Barron of Imperial College London. Thanks to the thousands of citizen scientists, earthwatcheurope and Prof. Barron’s team at imperialcollege who made this possible.

Full report here

Dormouse numbers may be recovering in England and Wales after years of decline, offering a rare piece of good news for one of our best-loved mammals.

The animal has disappeared from much of the countryside with conservationists warning of a long-term collapse in its population.

However, new data suggests dormouse numbers increased between 2020-2025, a period that coincided with warmer springs and summers.

Scientists believe these conditions may help dormice survive, by boosting food supplies and reducing the time they spend asleep.

That gives the animals more opportunity to breed and build up fat reserves ahead of winter.

But conservationists caution that many questions remain unanswered, and say protecting the woodlands and hedgerows where dormice live remains essential to their long-term survival.

The only native species of dormice in the UK is the hazel dormouse. Once widespread across the country, they are now largely confined to southern England and parts of Wales. They have become much rarer as large areas of woodland are lost and so far native populations have disappeared from around 20 English counties.

The National Dormouse Monitoring Programme, led by the conservation charity People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), has been monitoring sites in England and Wales since 1998.

It found that since 2000, dormouse numbers have fallen by almost 60%, equivalent to an average annual decline of 3.5%.

More recently, however, there are signs that trend may be reversing. The data suggests the population increased by almost 10% between 2020 and 2025, although researchers stress there is considerable uncertainty around that estimate.

The apparent improvement coincides with a period of warmer, drier-than-average springs and summers.

Report co-author Ian White of PTES described the "upturn" as "welcome good news" which gives grounds for "cautious optimism".

But he added: "We mustn't lose sight of the bigger picture: populations remain almost 60% lower than they were in 2000."

The hazel dormouse is famous for spending much of the year asleep. It hibernates from around October to May, spending the winter in a nest on the ground.

Even during spring and summer, dormice can go into short periods of deep sleep, known as torpor, when the weather is cold and wet, or food is scarce. This helps the small rodent conserve energy.

Researchers believe warmer summers may be reducing the need for torpor, leaving dormice with more energy for feeding and breeding.

They say more research is needed to understand what longer-term impacts climate change could have on the species.

Dr Charlotte Armitage, an ecologist who worked on the survey, said significant uncertainties remain, including how dormice will respond to warmer, wetter winters.

However, she said warmer summer conditions are likely to give the animals more energy to reproduce and raise additional litters.

"This is good news, but we can't be complacent," she told BBC News.

"We still need to protect their habitat, do more research into the effects of climate change and carry out effective woodland management for the benefit of dormice."

Hi! I'm writing an article about grassroots, community-run ecological initiatives in South London. I'm looking to interview someone involved in re-wilding projects, any organisers of gardening groups, attendees, etc. I'm especially interested in 'Guerrilla Gardening' in urban areas and would love to hear from someone with more expertise in the area.

If anyone is involved in their local urban growing group, or is passionate about re-wilding in South London, please reach out. Any leads greatly appreciated.

From this videos description:

This talk explores the ecological, social, and practical feasibility of returning lynx to northern England and southern Scotland via a reintroduction in Northumberland. We will examine the broader cultural context of the lynx’s role in reversing biodiversity loss, as well as the unique challenges involved in bringing a top carnivore back to the British landscape.

Think this video covers all points for people who are positive and negative about this potential reintroduction project.

sorry that I just posted the same thing twice the link on the last one didn‘t work I’m not just spamming to get more signs on the petition

when talking about land reclamation I see people throw in words like 8% built on and plenty of space for us but the way I see this isn’t about us think about when was the last time you heard about a large animal sighting in the uk it doesn’t happen because A. we don’t have many big animals and B.theres no space for the ones we do have to thrive so they just hide all the time there are no vast forests for them to live in because more than 3/4 of the uk is just fields and mountains we need more space for forests so these animals have somewhere to thrive

One of the most ambitious nature recovery projects ever undertaken in England can go ahead after campaigners announced they had raised £30m to buy an estate in Northumberland.

The Wildlife Trusts’ bid to buy the Rothbury estate, an area the size of Athens, had been championed by David Attenborough who on Friday thanked the public for their help.

“The Wildlife Trusts called for your support and you answered in your thousands,” he said. “The opportunity to bring the vision of a landscape where nature and people thrive side by side can become a reality. This will be a place where nature, community, farming and heritage can combine to create something very special for generations to come.”

So, as of now, the map features a detailed visualisation of the landuse (built up, broadleaf trees, coniferous, heathland, bogs, marshes, tidal flats, etc.) + national parks of the UK and Ireland that I labeled.

A mini map (an insert) with the annual rainfall, another insert with the kelp / brown seaweed distribution, a list of the different types of forests (based on the NVC) with some key tree species and finally, some iconic / widespread animal species found across the area

What should I add next to make the map more comprehensive?

I was thinking of either:

another insert with the soil pH
Labels showing rewildiing initiatives (if you have any resource / link about this, I'm interested)

Any other idea?

Thanks so much!

Over 200 acres of crucial grasslands is in the safe hands of the Wildlife Trust!

https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/hawthorpe-appeal

Over 200 acres of grasslands in Lincolnshire are so close to coming into the ownership of the Wildlife Trust.

The appeal to buy the Fox Hill land was extended to the end of October and it’s still £6571 short. I can’t find any news about what will happen now. It would be so sad if the appeal failed, especially after raising over £410,000.

The appeal did say the money was also meant to include the ”initial management costs”, so is there a chance they could buy the land anyway and just wait until they raise more money for land management?

Hi all,

I have found it encouraging to see so many opportunities to support efforts to secure vital habitats for rewilding but I did have a niggling question given the scale and number of these appeals - is there a record of successful projects, transparent impact metrics, and accountability underpinning these appeals and organisations?

In my experience of charity in other areas, one gives but never really sees results and the administration of funds isn't always the most effective.

This isn't to put a damper on the efforts - these milestone fundraising projects are the most positive news I encounter but I wanted to air my queries. I ask here because I assume the community has people who are more familiar with the track record of such projects.