Recovering the rainforest magazine

Written by: Bella Williams

Cover illustration for the Recovering the Rainforest magazine by artist Emma Reith, featuring species found in Britain’s temperate rainforests. Credit: Emma Reith

We are delighted to share the online edition of our Recovering the Rainforest Magazine. Bringing together stories inspired by landowners, volunteers, ecologists, artists, and project partners, the magazine explores the many ways people are helping these rare and unique habitats recover. 

The magazine is divided into three sections: Rainforest Nature, Rainforest People and Rainforest Restoration, each offering a different lens through which to explore the growing rainforest recovery movement. 

Salmon, the ultimate woodland fish. Credit: Brandon

• Rainforest Nature: Some of the most remarkable stories of the rainforest are told by the forest itself. How do lichens reveal a woodland's ancient roots? How can restoring our rainforests help protect our rivers and seas? In the Rainforest Nature section, discover the unique species, habitats and ecological processes that make these ecosystems so special, and the stories they reveal about our past, present and future. 

• Rainforest People:  We believe that temperate rainforests are for everyone. In the Rainforest People section, hear stories about those working on the frontline of rainforest recovery: young people planting trees through the depths of winter, beef and dairy farmers choosing to bring trees back to their land, and a Woodland Trust staff member’s reflections on a day spent with Indigenous Amazonian leaders, exploring lessons from cultures with deep and enduring connections to their forests.

• Rainforest Restoration: How do people and nature come together to restore temperate rainforests? In the Rainforest Restoration section, discover stories of innovation, collaboration and recovery. Learn how we used drones to sow 75,000 seeds across the open landscapes of Bodmin Moor, how excavators and chainsaws helped us become beavers while restoring a river and its surrounding woodland, and how natural flood management is helping to create healthier, more resilient flowscapes. You'll also hear from The Thousand Year Trust about plans for a state-of-the-art rainforest research centre that could help shape the future of Britain's temperate rainforest recovery. 

Landowner Rob Higgs showing youth volunteers the wetland habitat created by installing leaky dams in the rainforest. Credit: Heron Lewis.

Farmers Seb and Freya perching on their new favourite spot at Hall Farm, on the river Erme. Credit: Ben Lee/WTML

Okosho of the Asháninka people stands among a recovering rainforest on Buckland Wood, Dartmoor. Credit: Lee Magpie Photography

Illustration demonstrating the ‘Rainforest Shield Effect’. Credit: Design World. 

Art and illustration play a powerful role in storytelling, helping to bring complex ideas and scientific findings to life. To celebrate all that temperate rainforests do for nature and people, the magazine features an illustration inspired by modelling from the University of Plymouth, demonstrating how rainforest recovery on the West coast could help protect communities in the East from drought. The front cover artwork, created by local artist Emma Reith, celebrates the rich web of life that supports, and in turn is supported by, our rainforests, from lichens and mosses to pine martens, beavers and salmon. 

Together, these stories and artworks map what it truly means to be a rainforest nation. Restoration of ecosystems, the reuniting of forest and sea, and the remembering of how to connect to the more-than-human world. This magazine captures learnings and reflections from the beginning of this ecological and cultural shift. We hope that its content inspires you to discover more about Britain's temperate rainforests and how they are connected to you.  

Download the PDF below to explore the full magazine and immerse yourself in the stories of rainforest recovery. 

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.