The following articles will give you a well rounded overview to what is meant by reforestation.

We have a range of reforestation projects that include the restoration of illegal clear cuts, areas destroyed by wildfires & former agriculture lands devoid of biodiversity.

Reforestation Projects

The following articles will give you a well rounded overview to what is meant by rewilding.

All of our rewilding projects have as their main aim to maximise the restoration of wilderness and the promotion of biodiversity.

Rewilding Projects

Restore wildlife habitats and support biodiversity.

In early 2021, we partnered with Oana Namibia to fund a native plant nursery to support future large-scale reforestation and reforestation efforts. Oana is located in Southern Namibia, where the landscape is characterised by open desert shrubland interspersed by mountainous terrain, wooded ephemeral (intermittent water) and perennial (constant water) river beds, and grassy sand and gravel plains. These habitats are threatened by overgrazing, the spread of non-native Prosopis spp., climate change and erosion. Oana has already made great progress in clearing large areas of Prosopis and will soon be able to start restoring the river beds as well as the grassland ecosystem through planting. 

Rewilding the Namibian Deep South

The funding from this project will cover the main supplies needed to build a 300 m2 nursery. This nursery will supply the seedlings and saplings of native trees and grasses for future planting and restoration, and house native succulents, like elephant’s trunk (Pachypodium namaquanum) and quiver tree (Aloidendron dichotomum), in case of local extinctions. The funding will enable Oana to purchase the shade cover, seed house, irrigation system and planting equipment (pots, secateurs, buckets etc.). 

Learn more about the context behind this project

The river beds of Oana and the surrounding areas act as islands of fertility in an otherwise dry, desert habitat. Camel thorn or giraffe thorn (Vacheillia erioloba) is one of only a few tree species native to the area and is considered to be a keystone species while the sandy plains are home to species of Eragrostis, Stipagrostis and Schmidtia grasses, which provide food for the local wildlife and shelter for small animals.

Across much of the landscape, overgrazing by domestic livestock is threatening the little vegetation that is capable of surviving in this harsh landscape. The fertile woodlands vital for many species are threatened by the spread of non-native Prosopis, introduced to the area to provide shade and livestock fodder, which increases desertification, outcompetes native flora and ultimately overtakes and homogenizes the river beds. Meanwhile, the grasses of the sandy plains have been overgrazed and left vulnerable to erosion. With climate change likely to increase the frequency of climatic extremes and rainfall, this is likely to become an even bigger problem in the future. 

This project would fund the construction of a local nursery to provide seedlings and saplings of native trees and grasses for future planting and restoration.

Building A Tree Nursery

Preparing For Future Reforestation and Habitat Restoration

Four species of snail thought to be extinct have been found on a small Atlantic island. After more than 100 years without a confirmed observation, the species were rediscovered on Deserta Grande by the local conservationists at IFCN. Their only home and habitat had been devastated by invasive species so their reappearance comes as a very pleasant surprise.

However, initial estimates of their numbers (less than 50) suggest they may be on the verge of extinction. 

For this project, we have joined a hopeful rescue operation led by the IFCN that aims to ensure the long term survival of these species. 

The plan involves starting a captive breeding programme in collaboration with Chester Zoo and Bristol Zoo to boost snail numbers. But the first step of finding enough individuals of these endangered animals, perched on this rugged and remote island, was no easy feat. This is why we sent Tiago, one of our adventurous conservation biologists, to navigate the perilous rocky terrain and help with the expedition work. 

Once there are enough snails in captivity, we’ll be exploring the possibility of reintroducing them onto an adjacent island where the fossil record suggests the species used to be abundant and where the habitat is recovering following the eradication of invasive species.

For this project we are contributing to the fieldwork required to prevent the extinction of four species of snail that are endemic to Deserta grande, an island of the Madeira archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. All four species are deemed critically endangered according to IUCN criteria.

The main threat for these snails have been the invasive species that have raised havoc on the island’s fragile ecosystem after being introduced by humans settlers. Goats have proliferated and decimated the native vegetation and accelerated soil erosion. While direct threats come from mice, who feed on the snails and the seeds of native plants. 

This rescue operation involves multiple expeditions to:

collect enough individuals from each species to start a captive breeding programme, 

monitor the remaining populations to obtain more accurate estimates of population size, population trends and threats,

collect field environmental data to inform the conditions for captive breeding and the search for suitable reintroduction sites.

Each expedition entails some complicated boat disembarkation, strenuous hikes over steep terrain and long hours spent searching for snails under rocks and vegetation. Tiago, one of our Conservation biologists is joining these efforts to help with the surveys, to carry out the drone mapping and to document the expeditions. With the help of our members we have also been able to fund essential equipment to continue the fieldwork including items such as:

data loggers and sensors to monitor environmental conditions at the sites of the last remaining populations,

sieves for more effective sampling of soil and soil dwelling animals,

tagging materials to be used for population monitoring.

The short-term goal of the rescue operation is to prevent the imminent extinction of these unique species. The long-term goal is to boost snail numbers and carry out reintroductions in suitable locations where the original threats have been dealt with and where the snails can thrive without further intervention. The project should also provide an example for future snail conservation work, which is much needed around the world right now. 

Sadly, these special species are going extinct and not at a snail’s pace, quite the opposite.

Learn More About the Context Behind this Project

Although many people feel sad and worried about the news that we are at the start of a human induced mass extinction, few have a clear picture of what species we are actually losing. If you look at all the recorded animal extinctions since the year 1500 you will find that 40% of them are land or freshwater snail species and most have occurred on oceanic islands. We find this astonishing and alarming!

Two main factors are thought to explain this:

Many oceanic snail species have very narrow ranges and even small amounts of habitat loss or degradation can tip them to extinction.

Most of these species had evolved under low predation pressure so were susceptible to being wiped out by invasive species for which they had evolved no defence mechanisms.

Although snails may not receive the same attention as charismatic birds or mammals, they are unique and have their own evolutionary history and adaptations that are worth protecting. 

Land snails are also valuable for a few other reasons. By feeding on dead vegetation they help with nutrient cycling and maintaining soil fertility and they also provide food for other small animals. Some species are fairly sensitive to habitat degradation so can be useful as bioindicator species serving as an early warning system for the ecosystem. 

Finally, because of their limited dispersal ability and high species diversity they are a great study subject to understand:

Snails can also be identified from their shells after death and in the fossil record making them particularly suitable subjects for this interesting and consequential area of research.

The Madeira archipelago is a hotspot for snail biodiversity

The situation in Madeira is fairly representative of the problems facing the land snails of oceanic islands worldwide. There are close to 320 known species of land snail in the archipelago of Madeira making it a snail biodiversity hotspot. Approximately 80% of these are endemic meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. On Deserta grande, the island we are focusing on for this project, there are 

Lazarus taxa species rediscovered out of extinction

Lazarus taxa species are those that were rediscovered after they were thought to be extinct. For years, Isamberto Silva and Dinarte Teixeira from the IFCN had seen the fossils of these four species throughout the island. For them, finally seeing a live specimen after only finding their fossils was like seeing a dinosaur in the flesh having only imagined their colors, anatomy and behaviour. Initial population estimates suggested there may be less than 50 individuals left of each species so it became clear that a rescue operation was needed. 

Once again we thank our members for supporting projects like this one. Every Mossy Earth member is helping to restore neglected species, such as these snails, whose current state is a shell of their former self.

Have a look at some of the dramatic landscapes we crossed over land and sea during this snail rescue operation.

This snail species rescue operation is led by Dinarte Teixeira, the Malacologist at IFCN who sounded the alarm about these species. The captive breeding programme is led by Chester Zoo and Bristol Zoo Gardens. The project is also integrated into a broader conservation strategy of the IUCN’S Mid Atlantic Islands Species Specialist Group (http://www.maiisg.com/).

Searching for Extinct Species on a Deserted Island

The survival of four Atlantic snails is hinging on the combined conservation efforts to save them. Follow our expedition to rescue these unique yet fragile species.

An Expedition to Rescue Crictically Endangered Snails

Preventing snail extinctions on a small remote island

In October 2019, we launched our reforesting Scotland project to restore the Caledonian pinewoods of the Scottish Highlands. Since then, we have also planted trees along degraded river banks to restore riparian woodland habitat.

The reforesting Scotland project aims to restore a diversify of woodland types to Scotland, prioritising the pinewood and riparian woodland habitats. Scots pine and downy birch saplings, alongside a diversity of food-producing broadleaf trees, such as hazel and bird cherry, are being planted across the valley bottoms and hillsides, while alders, downy birch, willows and other important riparian tree species are being planted alongside degraded riverbanks.

To compliment the reforestation activities, we have supported the following rewilding interventions for the area: monitoring of Atlantic salmon and construction of eagle nest platforms.

Pine sapling.jpg

We plant Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), downy birch (Betula pubescens), juniper (Juniperus communis), hazel (Corylus avellana), holly (Ilex aquifolium), European crab apple (Malus sylvestris), common hawthorn (Cratageus monogyna), alder (Alnus glutinosa), bird cherry (Prunus padus), Elder (Sambucus nigra) and Wych elm (Ulmus glabra), eared willow (Salix aurita), grey willow (Salix cinerea), goat willow (Salix caprea) and aspen (Populus tremula).

Twinflower (Linnea borealis), black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), Scottish crossbill (Loxia scotica), pine marten (Martes martes) and Atlantic salmon (Salmon salar) are all present in the area.

Historically, much of the Scottish Highlands were covered in a forest of majestic Scots pine and colourful broadleaf trees, home to a diversity of plants and animals. Today, the landscape is largely devoid of these unique woodlands and many of the species that once thrived here have been lost. Our aim is to undo some of this damage and restore the empty glens and rewild the Scottish Highlands to rich, biodiverse, wild woodlands.  

What makes the pinewood ecosystem special?

The Scottish pinewoods are a globally unique habitat due to the absence of any other conifer tree, other than Scots pine, within the woodland. These woodlands support some of the UK’s rarest plant and animal species like the beautiful and delicate twinflower, the elusive wildcat and the impressive capercaillie. Restoring native woodlands in all their beautiful complexity will help return Scotland to wilder, richer state that a variety of species, including humans, can enjoy.

What makes the riparian woodland ecosystem special?

Riparian woodlands are rare in Scotland, with much of Scotland's riverbanks devoid of trees. These woodlands are important for stabilising the riverbanks, preventing soil erosion and reducing flooding. They also improve the health of the river by adding nutrients to the water in the form of leaf litter and invertebrates and creating shelter and shade for wildlife. This is vitally important for Scotland's fish species, particularly salmon and brown trout, which are threatened by the rising water temperatures brought on by climate change.

At the end of the last Ice Age, much of the Scottish Highlands were covered in woodland, mainly composed of Scots pine and birch. Around 4,000 years ago, the climate began to change. The natural tree line lowered, peat bogs expanded and woodland cover began to decline.

At around the same time, humans began to significantly change the landscape around them. Trees were felled to make room for crops and graze livestock, to harvest timber and fuelwood. By the 1700s, the great Caledonian Forest was reduced to small, isolated pockets of the Highlands. Much of the wildlife that thrived here, like lynx, bears and wolves, were lost.

In the 18th and 19th century, when much of the landscape had already been cleared of forests, estate owners began to clear the land of people. Known as the Highland Clearances, local people were forcibly evicted from their homes, entire villages were cleared, to make way for sheep grazing. Today, a combination of sheep farming, unsustainable numbers of deer and intensive land management for sporting purposes is restricting the ability of native woodlands to regenerate on their own. Reforestation with native species is therefore vital to restore this unique habitat.

In 2019, we launched our reforesting Scotland project to restore the Caledonian forest in the Scottish Highlands.

Reforesting Scotland

Eurasian aspen (Populus tremula) is a keystone species that is largely missing from Scottish woodlands today. In Europe, its often found alongside birch, rowan, willow, and alder in the broadleaf component of northern coniferous forests. Together, they can occupy around 15-20% of the forest. In Scotland, aspen mostly exists as small, isolated fragments often consisting of single relict trees. To restore the natural diversity of the native pinewoods and return aspen to the landscape, we are embarking on a long-term project to plant and support the natural regeneration of aspen trees in Scotland.

Planting Aspen: Restoring a Keystone Tree to the Scottish Highlands

Beginning in Spring 2021, we are launching an ambitious project to plant and protect 10,000 aspen trees over the next 5 years. We are planting open areas with trees grown in nurseries and trialling different techniques to protect naturally regenerating aspen from deer browsing e.g. planting thorny shrubs. We will focus our efforts in riparian areas where aspen play an important role in stabilising the river bank, creating shade and providing nutrients in the form of leaf fall. In doing so, we will help sequester carbon, create important woodland habitat and improve the health of Scotland's rivers. 

A collection of photos from our Restoring Aspen project

Aspen is considered to be a keystone species because of its ecological importance for other species. It provides vital habitat for a number of invertebrates, including aspen hoverfly (Hammerschmidtia ferruginea), an endangered species in the UK, as well as a diversity of lichen and bryophytes. Aspen is an important source of food for wildlife like, the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), and provides important nesting sites for several species of hole nesting birds, including various species of woodpeckers. In Europe, aspen stands have been shown to be used by capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), another endangered species in Britain and of great conservation concern. 

Historical management of Scotland’s woodlands for timber meant that non-useful trees, like aspen, were removed. This, coupled with the fact that aspen is one of the most palatable trees to deer and other herbivores, has reduced aspen in Scotland to small isolated fragments.  High densities of deer are now limiting the regeneration and return of aspen to the Scottish landscape. Aspen also rarely produces seeds in Scotland, reproducing mainly by new shoots, called ramets or suckers, growing directly from the root systems of mature trees. As a result, once aspen is removed from a site, it is very slow to colonise. 

We are restoring Eurasian aspen (Populus tremula) to the Scottish Highlands in partnership with Alladale Wilderness Reserve. Learn why aspen is important to protect.

Restoration of Eurasian aspen trees

Returning a Keystone Tree to the Scottish Highlands

In Namibia, the region we are working in was once home to three species of vulture that are now locally extinct. The cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres), lappet faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) and white backed vulture (Gyps africanus) are globally endangered, with the latter being critically endangered, as a result of serious anthropogenic threats, including poisoning through contaminated livestock and a lack of wild prey. To provide a safe and reliable source of food and encourage the return of these magnificent and ecologically important species, we are supporting our partners Oana, to establish a 'vulture restaurant'. This means we are providing a reliable and clean source of food for them. Over time, we hope this will encourage these species to reclaim their former haunts, to safeguard the future of these endangered species and restore a vital ecosystem service to the landscape. It would also provide significant ecotourism potential for Oana to continue to restore and rewild the Namibian landscape. This project is supported by our wonderful business partners Inlumi. 

Though these three species are locally extinct, a tracking project has recently recorded some birds visiting the area. The purpose of this project is to encourage them to return and remain in the area in the long term.  A suitable site for the ‘restaurant’ was identified to maximise the chances that any passing vultures could see the bait. The site was also chosen so that it can be visible from a nearby viewing spot to support wildlife-based tourism and increase awareness of the plight of these vultures. Goats will be sourced from the local community conservancy, where the majority of people rely on goats as a source of income. Recent droughts are causing some livestock deaths due to lack of available grazing and by sourcing reproductively inactive goats, Oana will be contributing towards local livelihoods and reducing waste. Camera traps have been installed at the site to monitor activity at the site. The funds will be used to source carcasses on a month basis for two years.

These vultures face an onslaught of threats from human activity. Accidental and intentional death from poisoned carcasses on farmland and by poachers, habitat loss, nest disturbance and destruction from expanding human settlement, collision with power lines, drowning in reservoirs and the reduction in wild ungulates (their preferred prey choice) have been identified as major threats to the survival of these species. They are also under threat from their use in traditional medicine. In some areas, it is believed that the heads, or brains, of vultures provide special powers.

By supporting the return of these species, we would not only be helping expand the range of endangered species, we would also be restoring a natural process vital for the health of the ecosystem. Vultures are natural garbage collectors and help keep the environment clean. By disposing of dead carcasses that would otherwise rot, they help keep the environment free from disease. 

How Vultures Help Fight Rabies and The Plague

To provide a safe and reliable source of food and encourage the return of endangered vultures, our partners Oana, would like to build a vulture restaurant. 

Building A Vulture Restaurant

Supporting the Return of Endangered Vultures

In early 2021, we will be supporting the Kyle of Sutherland Fisheries Trust to monitor Atlantic salmon migration, and identify barriers to their movements, at Alladale Wilderness Reserve. We will be sponsoring 10 radio tags to enable the Trust to monitor the movement of salmon upstream. This project is funded through our wonderful business partners Inlumi. 

Learn more about why we are monitoring Atlantic salmon migration

Why are salmon important to the ecosystem?

Every year in Autumn, Scotland's crystal clear salmon rivers and streams are transformed into a frenzy of fish leaping and swimming their way upstream to spawn in freshwater gravel beds, before returning to sea. In doing so, salmon help bring nutrients from the ocean ecosystem upstream into freshwater environments. Through excretion, spawning, death and decay, salmon directly affect the ecology of their freshwater environments and increase nutrient availability for algae, invertebrates and young salmon. 

Salmon themselves are an important food source for an abundance of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, such as otters, waterfowl and eagles. At sea, salmon are predated on by some of the ocean's top predators, such as sharks, dolphins and seals. They also have an interesting symbiotic relationship with a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera). Adult mussels filter water, improving the water quality and reproductive conditions for salmon, and salmon return the favour by providing a safe environment for mussel larvae to develop within their gills.

According to the Atlantic Salmon Trust, for every 100 wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo sala) that leave Scotland’s rivers for the sea, fewer than five return. This represents a decline of nearly 70% in 25 years. There is no single cause of this decline in migration, but a complex web of anthropogenic activities, including climate change. On the River Carron, which runs through our reforestation area at Alladale Wilderness Reserve, a unique situation exists. Water from the uppermost reaches of the river is re-routed to another catchment for hydro-electric power generation via a tunnel. Consequently, migrating juvenile salmon would be likely to head down this pipe and be “lost” to the Carron system. The historic solution was to put a dam immediately downstream to prevent adult salmon from spawning in this area and retain their offspring in the Carron system.

For a number of years, salmon have been reported above the dam. For several consecutive seasons, salmon/trout hybrids and some full juvenile salmon have been caught above this dam. This implies that salmon are circumventing the dam and spawning there, but the exact mechanism is unknown. One of the ways salmon could be getting over the damn is swimming through the scour valve when it is opened for a few hours in the autumn. In partnership with the Kyle of Sutherland Fisheries Trust, we are supporting efforts to radio track the salmon and identify the way in which salmon are ascending the dam by funding the purchase of 10 radio tags. This will help provide the Trust with vital information for the conservation of wild Atlantic salmon in the River Carron. 

Why we need forests to save the Scottish Salmon

Tiago, our conservation biologist, sat down with Jaakko Erkinaro. A renowned researcher, Jaakko's fields of research cover both freshwater and marine phases of salmonid fishes, for which he has published over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific articles. Together they discussed threatened freshwater ecosystems, the problems migratory fish face, and the conservation of such watercourses.

Learn more about migratory fish, their threats & conservation

Migratory Fish - Threats & Conservation

Migratory fish - threats & conservation | a chat with professor Jakko Erkinaro

To contribute to the conservation of Scotland's Atlantic salmon we will be supporting the tagging and migration tracking of wild salmon as they move up river to spawn. 

Tagging Wild Atlantic Salmon in Scotland

On a stunning 15 km stretch of Portuguese coast two special cliff plants found nowhere else on earth are facing extinction. One threat is the spread of the ice plant, an invasive species that can have a devastating impact on the ecosystem. Another issue is that many park visitors are unaware that rare plants exist here and so may not take enough care to protect them. A further challenge to conservation is access. The endangered plants are perched on steep cliff faces making access to monitor them difficult.

To address these challenges we are organising invasive plant removal events. Helping hands are coming from local rock climbers and cavers, joining us as volunteers united by their passion to protect local biodiversity. These events are also a way of spreading awareness and engaging different groups in a dialogue about what can be done for these species. For the monitoring, we will be using a drone to detect the rare plants and to document changes in the vegetation as a result of our efforts to remove the invasive ice plant.

By protecting these precious plants we are helping reduce biodiversity loss and trying to treasure nature in all its glorious forms. 

Invasive plant removal and community engagement

We are organizing events with local volunteers to help remove the invasive ice plant from the area where it is competing with the rare cliff plants. This is done by manually pulling the plants and removing them from the area. With these events we are aiming to:

stop the invasion before it spreads further and control efforts become unfeasible;

take direct action to restore diverse cliff plant communities (similar efforts have been successful elsewhere);

spread awareness about these species to prevent any damage by park visitors;

encourage dialogue between all the groups involved in protecting, studying and enjoying the area.

Monitoring with a drone and photogrammetry

We will be capturing drone images to survey inaccessible cliffs and ensure we have the evidence needed to guide our conservation actions. We expect the technology will have multiple uses: 

detecting the presence of rare plant species in hard to access locations;

monitoring the distribution of the invasive ice plant and use this data to coordinate removal events; 

monitor the vegetation before and after ice plant removal to check if the vegetation is recovering as expected or if further intervention is needed.

We've described the project itself above, but read on to see why this is so important.

Learn more about how and why we want to protect these plants

For some plants, the cliffs of Cabo Espichel are the ideal refuge from human disturbance and from other species that would outcompete them elsewhere. Two of these plant species have their entire global distribution restricted to this 15 km stretch of coastline and have been listed as endangered in the recently published Red List of Vascular Plants of continental Portugal. 

Convolvulus fernandesii is a species of vine that grows on the cliff faces and at their base, sometimes climbing over other plants and shrubs. It puts out beautiful white flowers in the spring and in the summer its bright green leaves turn yellow. It is extremely rare with the latest estimate putting the total number of mature individuals at 500. 

Euphorbia pedroi is a sub-succulent plant that is adapted to dry conditions which can attain up to 2m in height and more than 2m in width. Its leaves have a very distinct tone of green before they are shed every year during the heat of summer. Although it appears to be more numerous than C. fernandesii, there are only three known subpopulations in the area and it is unclear to what extent these are connected. 

The extreme scarcity of each of these plants makes this a worthwhile mission to ensure their uniqueness remains instead of losing them forever.

Threats that are thought to be affecting both species include:

increases in the frequency and intensity of droughts; 

the spread of the invasive ice plant (Carporboruts edulis).

Take a look at this special vegetation that can only be seen here. The final image shows the spread of the invasive 'ice plant'.

Other than the two narrow endemics, this part of the coast is very rich in plant diversity with about 1400 plant species recorded. Some of these are rare in Portugal and have been identified as a conservation priority by the Portuguese Botanical Society including:         

One serious threat for these rare species is the spread of ice plant (Carpobrous edulis) in the area. This is an invasive succulent plant that forms dense mats which change the soil composition and displace native species that have been evolving together for millennia. It can spread rapidly on dunes and coastal cliffs wiping out entire plant communities. As in other European countries, the species was introduced in Portugal during the 1900s because it was thought to help prevent coastal erosion. It is currently widespread along the Portuguese coast. 

Rock climbers are among the people that spend the most time exploring these cliffs and so are more likely to encounter these rare species. By spreading awareness among the climbing community we want to help reduce the chances that someone will damage these plants due to a lack of knowledge. What’s more, rock climbers are comfortable navigating these hard to access locations so they make ideal volunteers to help us plan and carry out interventions in the area. Having said this, everyone is welcome to join and we hope to get a wide range of people excited about plants and other cliff-dwelling biodiversity!

Using a drone for cliff plant monitoring 

Current methods for monitoring these rare endemic species are very time consuming making it impractical to carry out population surveys with the accuracy and frequency needed to detect population trends and threats. Both species have a very narrow range but their habitat is very hard to access. 

If no other monitoring approach is used, we would have to invest substantial time in continuously monitoring these populations. Accurate population size estimates would require very thorough sampling using abseiling and rock climbing techniques. Other than being logistically complex, this type of survey would be intrusive and could inadvertently disturb the cliff ecosystem. 

To address this, we are using a drone to capture high resolution images which can later be processed to detect where the individuals of each species are present. After being validated and refined, we hope this approach will provide a reproducible and cost effective way to monitor the abundance and distribution of these rare species. 

We also aim to use the drone and photogrammetry software to create orthophotomaps of the areas where C. edulis is to be removed. The resulting maps will help to plan the removal events but, more importantly, they provide a baseline scenario for monitoring the impact of this intervention on native vegetation. By creating the same maps every year, we hope to capture the process of recolonization by native vegetation. These surveys may demonstrate the success of the intervention or a failure of native plants to recolonize the area which would suggest that assisted revegetation may be appropriate. Finally, we expect the maps will prove useful as a way of identifying C. edulis resprouts that could be missed otherwise.

The partnerships making this project possible

We are getting all kinds of partners together for this project. The local rock climbing community and the cavers from NECA are contributing as volunteers with their local knowledge, sweat and hard work in our invasive plant removal events. 

Pix4D, a drone mapping software company, will be helping us process the drone imagery for our monitoring objectives. 

The Portuguese Botanical Society is contributing with their expertise and the local park authorities (ICNF) are helping ensure our efforts fit into the broader conservation strategy for this protected area. 

We Are Fighting Invasives To Save Rare Cliff Flowers - Project Vlog

To help save plant species that exist nowhere else on earth, we are working with volunteers from the rock climbing community to remove an invasive plant from sea cliffs in Portugal.

Saving Rare Sea Cliff Plants in Portugal

Romania's Carpathian Mountains are home to some of Europe’s last remaining truly wild forests and the largest population of bears, wolves and lynx. Sadly, this ecosystem hangs in the balance due to years of illegal logging. Our goal is to restore the barren clear cuts that threaten these forests. In partnership with Foundation Conservation Carpathia we are working to restore clear cuts in the Romania's Southern Carpathian Mountains. 

Brown bear.jpeg

We plant Norway spruce (Picea abies), silver fir (Abies alba), wych elm (Ulmus glabra), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Norway maple (Acer platanoides) and European beech (Fagus slyvatica).

Brown bear (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), grey wolf (Canis lupus), European bison (Bison bonases) and Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) are all present in the area.

On the ground at our project area in the Southern Carpathians

Reforesting the Southern Carpathians

The Southern Carpathian Mountains in Romania have some of the most intact ecosystems in Europe. These mountains are a treasure of biodiversity and a shared heritage that should remain for future generations to enjoy peacefully.

Old growth forests in Europe have become extremely scarce, the Carpathian Mountains represent the biggest unfragmented area of virgin forests in Europe. The Carpathians are home to the largest populations of large carnivores in Europe including bears, wolves and lynx. The area is home to an extraordinary range of endemic species as well.

Camera trap footage of wildlife in winter in the Southern Carpathians

Winter Camera Traps Souther Carpathians

The communist People’s Republic of Romania formed through Soviet occupation of the country following World War II. During this era, thousands of people suffered under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Romania's wilderness, in comparison, faired quite well. It was seemingly protected from the kind of exploitation experienced throughout other areas of Europe at the time and acted as a refuge for species that were declining across Europe. It is believed Ceaușescu, being a less than capable hunter, is the reason for the comparatively high number of bears in the Carpathian Mountains today. Big game hunting was extremely limited during this time, and permits were granted almost entirely to the Communist Party members. Unable to shoot many bears, his trusted aides also launched a re-population programme so that he had a better chance of killing one, alleviating them from his tempers.

After the collapse of the Romanian economy in the 1980s and the fall of the Communist government, Romania's national forests were restituted to private owners. Newly privatised and communal forests have continued to be clear cut at an alarming rate ever since. At the same time, the democratization of hunting has caused dramatic declines in wildlife populations. Although there is rising awareness about the dramatic situation of some of the last old-growth forest in Europe, reforesting action needs to be taken now, as logging continues to destroy these precious areas.

Our reforesting the Southern Carpathians project seeks to turn the tide on illegal clear cuts by restoring one of the most wild ecosystems in Europe.

Reforesting The Southern Carpathians

Healing clear-cuts in Europe's last remaining wilderness

In April 2020, we launched our project to restore one of the last remnants of Central Europe’s floodplain forests. With our local partner Broz, we are planting trees along the Danube river in Slovakia.

The project aims to restore this unique forest and conserve the diversity of fauna and flora that inhabit the area. By planting open areas with native trees, such as poplars, elms and maples, we are working to increase forest cover and habitat availability for species like the locally endangered black stork, the charismatic beaver and the rare large copper butterfly. Floodplain forests are an important carbon sink and their restoration has the potential to sequester a large amount of carbon and contribute to the fight against the climate crisis.  

Slovakia saplings.jpeg

Silver poplar (Populus alba), black poplar (Populus nigra), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), narrow-leafed ash (Fraxinus angustifolia), European white elm (Ulmus leavis), field elm (Ulmus minor), common oak (Quercus robur), Norway maple (Acer platanoides).

European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), black stork (Ciconia nigra), stag beetle (Lucanus cervus), large copper (Lycaena dispar).

One of the most endangered forest habitats in the world, today, only 5-20% of the Danube floodplains are forested. They grow along rivers and streams and are characterised by an intricate dynamic flooding and dry periods, a variety of different water conditions (slow flowing, fast flowing, standing and quick drying water bodies) and high groundwater. These diverse conditions mean the forests can support a diversity of species. They also play an important role in filtering and cleaning water supplies and providing natural protection against floods.

The unique floodplain forests are home to a diversity of mammals, like the Eurasian river otter and beaver. They are also an important habitat for birds, with a high density of species comparable to other forest types. The locally endangered black stork and white-tailed eagle nest on the tall trees while the black woodpecker occupies the natural cavities in the tree trunks. With over 60 fish species, 109 molluscs and thousands of insects species, these forests are teeming with life. Among the busy communities of these forests, you can find the rare stag beetle and beautiful large copper.

Unsustainable forest management has caused the destruction and degradation of huge swathes of the native Danube floodplain forests. Traditional management practices has focused on maximising wood and pulp production, through large scale clear-cuts, the removal of top soil as well as the planting of hybrid poplars and other non-native tree species. A lack of food and shelter in these non-native monocultures means they are unable to support the diversity of species found in native forests. Harvested at an age of 20-40 years, these forests are unable to reach maturity. Old trees in which woodpeckers and other birds could nest are entirely absent, as well as the dead wood that many insects and fungi rely on. The rich native herbs, fungi and trusses of the undergrowth are also unable to re-establish in that time period.

Humans have severely altered the hydrology of the area and caused significant damage as a result. The Danube floodplain habitats rely on healthy rivers and waterbodies as well as periods of flooding and high groundwater levels. However, decades of regulating watercourses, construction of dams and draining of flooded areas, has left these unique floodplain habitats in poor condition and a fraction of the size they once were. With increased temperatures and decreasing rainfall brought on by the current climate crisis, the future of this unique habitat is at even greater risk.

The Danube floodplain forests cover only a fraction of what they did in the past. Our Restoring The Floodplain Forests project seeks to reverse this damage.

Slovakia - Restoring The Floodplain Forests of the Danube

For the Spring 2020 rewilding project, we head to the location of our new project, Slovakia, where we support our amazing partners, Broz, to restore the Danube floodplain forests. This project assists the wonderful work happening to protect Slovakia's endangered population of European pond turtles. 

Slovakia Rewilding Vote

Learn more about why we are protecting European pond turtle eggs & nests

Discussions of turtle conservation more often than not bring up images of charismatic sea turtles, like the logger head and green turtle, gliding through crystal clear warm waters and bathing on soft white tropical sand. Both these species are also found in Europe, specifically the Mediterranean Sea, and are the focus of ambitious conservation projects to protect against the large number of threats they face in Europe, both on land and at sea. These include harvesting for consumption, habitat degradation, disturbance and fishing-induced mortality. Lesser known but equally deserving of our attention are Europe’s freshwater turtles. Many freshwater species, which includes terrapins and pond turtles, are under threat from the pet trade, habitat degradation, habitat fragmentation, vehicle collisions and non-native predators, yet their conservation seems less of a priority. That’s why we’ve partnered with Broz, our partners in Slovakia, to protect one such species, the little European pond turtle, and help safeguard its future in Slovakia. 

Fossil records show the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) has been present in Slovakia for at least 120,000 years. However, in recent years it has disappeared from much of its range. Today, there are only two known sites with a viable breeding population in Slovakia. These pond turtles live in open habitats and rely on wetlands, ponds and water channels for hunting and moving. Eggs are laid in shallow under ground nests in sandy soils with little vegetation. Depending on the weather, the hatchlings can remain at the nest site throughout winter and start emerging in spring following year. Unfortunately, the European pond turtle is losing suitable breeding habitat across much of its range as land is converted to agriculture and nests destroyed and turtles killed by agricultural disturbance.

The nesting behaviour of these pond turtles leaves them susceptible to predators as well. Our partners have access to one of the last remaining breeding populations in Slovakia, where predation is the main threat. Predator protection measures are there a vital conservation intervention to protect this important population. The project funds the training of detection dog to detect turtle eggs underground. Since nests are practically invisible to the human eye, the detection dog will accompany the field team to the breeding site to survey for active nests. Fences are erected over active nests to protect the eggs and hatchlings from predators, thereby helping to improve the reproductive success of one of Slovakia’s last remaining breeding populations of European pond turtle.

To support the conservation of the turtles more widely, the team are tagging turtles with GPS trackers to enable them to monitoring their movement patterns in the long term. This will provide crucial data to enable the team to identify important areas of habitat for protection and restoration, including any unknown breeding sites.

To contribute to the conservation of Slovakia's European Pond Turtle we are supporting surveying and protection of active nests and turtle eggs.

Protecting Turtle Nests & Eggs

Conserving Slovakia's European Pond Turtle

Ireland was once the most forested country in Europe. Today it has just 11% tree cover, only 2% of which is native forest. Working with our tree planting partners Hometree, our Reforesting Ireland project seeks to reforest and rewild a 60 hectare property in an area that currently has no wild forests.

Tree planter.jpeg

At our Reforesting Ireland project we plant Scarlett willow (Salix alba), goat willow (Salix caprea), grey willow (Salix cinerea), osier willow (Salix viminalis), alder (Alnus glutinosa), downy birch (Betula pubescens), European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), common hawthorn (Cratageus monogyna), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), holly (Ilex aquifolium), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), common oak (Quercus robur) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea).

Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), pine marten (Martes martes), brown hare (Lepus europaeus) are all present in the area. To learn more about these species, head over to our wildlife in Ireland or rewilding Ireland guides. 

The Irish, descendants of the Gaels, which means forest people, have worshipped trees longer than they’ve believed in God.

Centuries of deforestation for agriculture and timber have reduced Ireland’s once extensive native woodlands to small, isolated remnants. Old native woodlands can still to be found in areas of thin soils unsuitable for agriculture, but today, the country is known for its landscape of open, green pastures instead.  

Legend has it that a squirrel could traverse through the tree canopy from the North of Ireland to the far South without ever touching the forest floor.

Sadly, it was these rich woodlands, particularly the robust oaks that were prized by England for the construction of its cathedrals, the reconstruction of London after the Great Fire and its naval fleets between 1600s – 1800s. Large areas of old growth forests were decimated by the English and never replaced.

Ireland's native woodlands are mostly made up of colourful broadleaf trees like oak, ash, alder and birch. A healthy, thriving forest provides vital habitat for a diversity of flora and fauna, including great spotted woodpecker, narrow-leaved helleborine, wood millet, red squirrels and Ireland's rarest native mammal, the pine marten.

In response to legal requirements to reduce carbon emissions, the Irish government is primarily funding the planting of non-native conifer monocultures. These monoculture forests cause soil acidification, create excess sediment in rivers, and are often devoid of wildlife. These lucrative plantations also price small farmers off the land.

Ireland was once the most forested country in Europe, now it's the least! Our Foraois Reforesting Ireland project aims to reverse this trend through native tree planting interventions.

Foraois | Reforesting Ireland

It brings us great joy to communicate the impact of this rewilding project. At the centre of its purpose is a small mammal adored across the UK – the water vole. Once found in abundance in our rivers, this loveable riverside dweller has sadly lost a big part of its population. Read on to find out the causes of its decline, why water voles are so important to their ecosystem, and how we helped in the effort to restore their numbers.

Despite its small size, the water vole (Arvicola amphibius) has a large role to play in shaping its ecosystems. As small as a rat but more similar in looks to a beaver, water voles are important ecosystem engineers, creating complex riparian habitats through their burrowing and feeding behaviour to support a host of other plant and animals. 

Unfortunately, the water vole is one of the UK’s fastest declining mammals. In the 1990’s, the population crashed by 90% and many populations disappeared altogether. Ambitious reintroductions projects have since been established to restore water voles to areas where they are missing, and we’re excited to be supporting this important work. 

Kielder, in the north of England, was once home to a thriving population of water voles before the population went locally extinct in the 1980s. Thanks to the hard work of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Forestry England the Tyne Rivers Trust, water voles have been returned to the area once again after an absence of around 30 years. 

Over 1,500 water voles have been bred in captivity at a specialist facility in Devon and released into Kielder as part of the Restoring Ratty project. In June 2021, we supported their work to release a further 177 water voles, providing funding to help transport voles from the breeding centre to the release site. 

Learn more about why we have helped water vole reintroductions

One of Britain’s most threatened mammals 

The water vole is thought to have disappeared from 94% of its former range in the UK. 

Habitat loss and inappropriate wetland management as a result of agricultural intensification has played a significant role in the decline of the water vole. But it was the introduction of the North American mink (Neovison vison) that really pushed water voles to the brink. 

American mink became established in the UK after escaping and being deliberately released from fur farms. They have since wiped out entire populations of water voles across the UK. The reason water voles are so vulnerable to predation by this new predator is because they have no natural defences to protect themselves. The water vole’s usual tactic to escape predation is to dive underwater and kick up a ‘smoke screen’ of dirt, but mink are strong swimmers and can smell underwater, making this strategy ineffective. 

Another tactic is to run into their burrows but female and juvenile mink are small enough to fit. In winter, when adult water voles and their offspring take shelter in their burrows, a mink can wipe out the entire population. 

A keystone species - positively impacting others

Water vole conservation is important for the continued survival of the species in the UK. It is also important because water voles play an important role in the wider ecosystem. As a keystone species, water voles create the conditions for other animals to thrive. They increase habitat complexity and plant community diversity through their burrowing and grazing behaviour. Their decline therefore, has the potential to reduce habitat complexity and plant diversity in riparian areas. They are also an important prey species for a number of Britain’s most charismatic predators, including otters, marsh harries and golden eagles. 

The public has been drawn to the battle to save 'ratty' the water vole, a character in the classic novel Wind in the Willows. We hope that being part of the collective effort to win this battle will spark more imagination - to see this animal settle safely in our waterways once more.

Our Projects

Reforestation

Rewilding

Building A Tree Nursery

Snail Species Rescue

Reforesting Scotland

Restoring Aspen

Building A Vulture Restaurant

Radio Tagging Atlantic Salmon