Celebrating our Youth Rainforest Volunteers this National Volunteer Week
Written by: Bella Williams
Volunteers from Falmouth and Exeter Universities and the surrounding community exploring a local rainforest outreach site. Credit: Heron Lewis
At the Woodland Trust, Rainforest Recovery means not just the return of one of our rarest ecosystems, but the reimagining of our relationship with nature itself. Rediscovering our identity as a Rainforest Nation offers us the unique opportunity to envision a new future rooted in connection and reciprocity- and there is no better expression of hope for this future than the passion and dedication of our incredible youth volunteer teams.
This National Volunteer Week, we wish to highlight the hard work and talent of our amazing team of youth Rainforest Recovery volunteers. Since the project began last year, over 80 young people have extended their time, energy, and enthusiasm to the creation, protection, and restoration of 11 rainforest sites across Devon and Cornwall.
‘For me, volunteering is a great way to connect with nature, particularly when you have intention to help restore the habitats we work in. It’s rewarding to see that our team efforts can cause such real ecosystem change. With so much depressing news on declining global ecosystems being constantly fed to us, I think it’s imperative to not lose hope, and to feel like our effort can make a difference.’
- Sam Bowness, Volunteer Green Team Leader
Devon volunteer team preparing to plant trees at Wistmans 2.0. Credit: Alejandra Hart
One of the year’s most meaningful milestones was the planting of 450 young trees beside the ancient Wistman’s Wood- one of Britain’s oldest rainforest fragments- followed by a return visit to neighbouring Black-a-Tor Copse to install cactus guards around naturally regenerating oak saplings.
Working across these sites on Dartmoor, volunteers reflected on the vastness that temperate rainforests once covered- around 80% of Devon and Cornwall- and imagined a future where these scattered remnants might one day reconnect. Whilst the task carried the urgency of any job long overdue, the day itself moved slowly and with quiet intention. Using saplings grown from the seeds taken from the original rainforest fragments, a careful balance was struck between restoring what was lost and creating the space for something new to grow at the same time- something that the team would never see, but cared for all the same.
‘You have to be hopeful when you do it. You have to feel hopeful for a temperate rainforest that will grow that you may never see, but you know that others will benefit from in future generations. It's a beautiful thing in a way, to feel that you are investing in the future of the rainforest in Britain, and the future of the generations that will experience that. For me that is what is so special- the nurturing aspect of looking into the future. Creating a gift for that future.’
- Thalia Lichenstein, Rainforest Recovery Volunteer
Volunteer team from Exeter University at conifer plantation turned rainforest, Ausewell Woods. Credit: Ariane Johnston-Breen
Further west in one of our Cornwall outreach sites, volunteers worked on a gift for the future that may arrive sooner than expected. Stepping into the role of beavers, the team constructed leaky dams that aim to hold water in the rainforest and help the river to function as the ecosystem's lungs once again.
Volunteers being beavers at Trevone Quarry. Credit: Heron Lewis
Whilst The Woodland Trust has no plans to release beavers following the legalisation of licensed beaver release, volunteers then spent another afternoon making the woodland ‘beaver ready’ by planting willow- the favoured food of the beaver- to make it more appealing should they arrive there naturally.
Whilst they did so, they reflected on the return of ecosystem functionality at a landscape scale, imagining a future of climate resilience, healthy rivers, thriving seas, and the rekindling of all of the connections between them that have been lost alongside our rainforests.
"I see the Rainforest Recovery as paramount to a greener, more diverse and thriving future—not just for nature, but for the communities and food systems that are integral to our health and local economies."
- Heron Lewis, Rainforest Recovery Volunteer
As they gave their time, energy, and care to the land, the forest gave back in return, offering learning, friendship, and the tangible joy of recovery.
"I receive so much in return by volunteering for the Woodland Trust and other local charities—skills, friendships, knowledge, and the reassurance that we’re building a healthy, diverse ecosystem together."
- Heron Lewis, Rainforest Recovery Volunteer
Landowner Rob Higgs showing volunteers the wetland habitat created by existing natural flood management in the rainforest. Credit: Heron Lewis.
Whilst currently just 8% of temperate rainforest remains in Devon and Cornwall, with our Youth Volunteers, we can imagine a very different future. To our volunteers: Thank you!
If you would like to join us for our rainforest recovery volunteer days, please contact bellawilliams@woodlandtrust.org.uk for any enquiries.
Rainforest Recovery is the South West strand of The Rainforest Restoration Project. It is being led by the Woodland Trust in partnership with Plantlife. This project is funded as part of the Government's Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered on behalf of Defra by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.