First trees planted in effort to expand ‘iconic’ temperate rainforest site

Hundreds of saplings have been planted at the Duchy of Cornwall’s Wistman’s Wood.

A man holds a sapling in a root ball of earth — Tree planting near Wistman’s Wood, Dartmoor (Duchy of Cornwall/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice/PA)

Hundreds of saplings have been planted as part of a project to expand one of the South West’s last remaining temperate rainforests.

Volunteers have planted 450 saplings from Wistman’s Wood, an ancient oak woodland covering seven acres in the Dart Valley, on Dartmoor, Devon, and installed protective guards around naturally regenerated trees.

The new saplings are the first to be planted since the Duchy announced plans to double the size of the wood it owns, in July 2023, under efforts supported by the Prince of Wales.

Newly planted trees are being established in small groups and in a newly fenced area, by the Duchy of Cornwall, working with Natural England, Moor Trees, the Woodland Trust and tenant farmers, with a long-term ambition to create a “mirror image” of the existing wood.

A view of bare trees festooned in lichen — Temperate rainforest is one of the most precious habitats in the UK (Duchy of Cornwall/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice/PA)

Atlantic temperate rainforest is one of the UK’s most precious habitats.

Native trees festooned in lichen, mosses and ferns provide habitat for a wide array of creatures, including hazel dormice, rare blue ground beetles and other insects, and birds such as redstart and pied flycatcher.

These rainforests once swathed western coasts of Britain, the island of Ireland and the Isle of Man, but have shrunk from about a fifth of land to just 1%, cut down for timber and to make space for agriculture.

They now are found only in fragments that face threats including climate change and invasive species, with only 8% remaining in Devon and Cornwall.

William, who is known as the Duke of Cornwall in the county, is understood to have followed the project closely and is extremely supportive of it.

Wistman’s Wood has numerous protections for its significance for nature conservation, including some of the rarest species of mosses and lichens, and is rich in folklore and mythology, the Duchy said.

Work to expand the wood has been carried out with Duchy farmer John Malsteed, who has implemented measures to manage his livestock grazing to regenerate young oak trees around the woodland’s fringes.

Two volunteers planting trees on rocky ground — Volunteers have planted saplings to expand Wistman’s Wood (Duchy of Cornwall/Charles Sainsbury-Plaice/PA)

Acorns and rowan seeds have been gathered and grown on in the past two years by Moor Trees’ community tree nursery in Dartington, south Devon.

Helen Aldis, chief executive of Moor Tress, said that using trees sourced from local, ancient woodlands meant “the trees we plant will share the genetics and have the resilience to survive and thrive in this setting”.

Geraint Richards, head forester to the Duchy of Cornwall, said: “The work at the iconic Wistman’s Wood is a flagship for the wider work that the Duchy of Cornwall and its many partners on Dartmoor have been working on in recent years.

“This shared approach to the enhancement of nature, people’s access to and enjoyment of the countryside, will help underpin the future sustainability of Dartmoor’s farmed landscape and the vibrance of its local communities.”