About 100 volunteers have helped grow nearly 8 million native trees in Scotland after collecting 11 million seeds by hand, contributing to efforts to restore lost parts of the Atlantic rainforest. The volunteers, including retired teachers, doctors, office workers, and young families, spent tens of thousands of hours venturing into remote woods in the western Highlands and islands to search for seed-bearing trees.
Seed Collection Process
Using detailed maps compiled by NatureScot and Scottish Forestry, the teams identified pockets of ancient woodland in exposed, challenging locations. They scrambled up hillsides to find specific tree species that colonised Scotland after the last ice age: hazel, sessile oak, dwarf birch, willow, juniper, birch, wild cherry, wych elm, yew, and elder.
The ecologists involved noted that these native trees have inherited genetic resilience to survive in specific microclimates and soil types along Scotland's Atlantic coast—an advantage non-native trees lack, especially as the climate changes.
Current State of the Rainforest
Recent surveys suggest only 30,000 hectares of original Atlantic rainforest survive. This rare temperate habitat, adapted to the UK's moist coastal environment, is now the focus of multimillion-pound restoration projects. The surviving pockets have been meticulously mapped within distinct seed zones devised by forestry experts.
The seeds were collected, graded, and checked by the rewilding organisation Trees for Life at its tree nursery at Dundreggan near Inverness. Finished saplings are sent back to the correct zones for planting.
Reforestation Projects
The Woodland Trust has taken saplings for reforesting projects, including Gleann Shìldeag and Assynt in Wester Ross, and Beò Airceig, a 30,000-hectare restoration around Loch Arkaig in Lochaber. Saplings have also been sold to scores of crofters planting small woods on former grazing land.
Sheena Macaulay, a biology graduate living near Oban, is one of the volunteers. A former IT manager at Scottish Power's Cruachan hydro station, she combines seed-hunting with butterfly conservation. "We need to regenerate for the generations coming behind us," she said. "Rather than moaning about climate change, actually do something."
Expert Guidance
Macaulay's team was supervised by Roz Birch, volunteer coordinator with Trees for Life. Birch uses outings to deliver impromptu biology lessons, teaching volunteers to spot differences between Scottish native sessile oak and common English oak—noting how far sessile oak acorns and leaves sit from the twig. A moss-laden tree offers lessons on temperate rainforest ecology, with bark home to mosses and lichens thriving in the moist climate.
"You do have really extreme high winds and storms that will pass through. Again, the trees are pretty well adapted to that environment," Birch explained, pointing at liverwort colonising an old oak branch. "The uniqueness of the rainforest zone is there will be bryophytes, lichens, whole ecosystems on these trees and within these woodlands, that you can't really find anywhere else apart from the west coast of Scotland and Wales and the south-west of England."
Climate Impact and Project Significance
The project is underpinned by rigorous ecology and close observation of seasonal weather patterns. Birch noted that climate heating means seed ripening happens earlier; a dry spring can stress rowan but boost hawthorn, forcing seed collection dates to shift or be cancelled.
The project fills a gap left by commercial or state-sponsored forestry organisations, as these locations are too remote or costly for commercial seed collectors. Its backers believe it is the largest citizen-based reforestation programme of its kind.
Originally conceived as a one-year project, it has now received funding for a fourth year from donors including the Postcode Lottery via Woodland Trust Scotland, Trees for Life appeals, the BrITE Foundation, and the Clean Planet Foundation.
Another volunteer, Laura Corbe, 47, a marine biologist, values seed-hunting for requiring focus without distraction. "You're literally growing the future. And that's a beautiful thing, isn't it? I don't think people really understand the significance of the rainforest, even people who've lived here their whole lives," she said.
