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Rusland Woodland in Spring

Fighting for Rusland's Rare Temperate Rainforest

The Rusland Valley Temperate Rainforest Project is live. We are lucky enough to have one of the last strongholds of ancient temperate rainforest in England. Help us protect and regenerate this precious habitat.

We are partners in the 2024-2025 Special species Survival Fund Project for Cumbria with the grant managed by HLF and funded by DEFRA. Partners include Plantlife (lead), Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Cumbria Woodlands and Cumbria Connect. Plantlife are running volunteer training days in the area so volunteers can learn how to survey for rainforest indicators and measure the health of our woodlands. Local Rusland Valley woodland conservation work parties are beginning to improve habitat alongside capital works funded by the grant. This project is now run by the Rusland local support group.

Please contact us at ruslandrainforest@cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk if you want to get involved in training to conduct surveys, educational walks or volunteer work parties. Online training events are also available via Plantlife.

Cumbria's Temperate Rainforests support some of the richest and most treasured habitats in our beautiful countryside. They contain a treasure trove of veteran trees, butterflies, birds, invertebrates, fungi, as well as valuable moss and lichen species with wonderful names such as Fairy beads, Elf’s ears, and Pixie cups. Specialist surveys in our woodlands have identified key rainforest indicators and much potential but the woods need our help to regenerate and thrive by work parties to help open up the canopy to bring in light, clear holly to encourage a diverse forest floor and remove non native species that shade out key habitat. 

Did you know only 1% of the habitat on the entire planet can support Temperate Rainforest? Rare indeed.

Please join us to help our work. Our woodlands are under threat from climate change, disease and non-native species. Their strong roots help prevent downstream flooding and the trunks are host to thousands of species. Many lichen and bryophyte species could hold medical properties that have not even been researched yet. If we lose these precious habitats, they cannot be re-created. There are opportunities to conduct surveys, help with conservation work parties and support on project administration. 

Our achievements

Update June 2025

  • Rapid rainforest assesment in person training completed for 60 volunteers 
  • Additional online training conducted by Plantlife
  • Specialist surveys by Plantlife in Glass Knott, Hall Brow, Quakers wood, Resp Haw, Bull Coppice
  • Volunteer surveys conducted in Johnny Brow, Yewbarrow, Black Beck Woods and Round Close
  • All sites identified as having good potential for improvement
  • Information presentation held 16th January 2025 at Finsthwaite Village Hall
  • Surveys will continue by volunteers to get more detailed mapping/woodland assessments in as many woodlands in the valley as possible
  • Work parties continue to improve habitat and biodiversity including removal of non-native tree species
  • Capital works conducted during 2025 include improvement works such as halo thinning, tree veteranisation, creation of exclosures, holly reduction, non-native tree removal, native tree planting, stockproofing and information boards.

Did you know?

  • This woodland used to cover large swathes of the Western seaboard of the British Isles
  • The Rusland area contains some of the best connected remaining  Temperate Rainforest in England
  • The species in this woodland are key indicators of climate change as clean air is vital to their healthy survival
  • The conditions needed to support Temperate Rainforest occur on less than 1% of the planet
  • The medical and scientific potention of lichen and mosses has barely been explored
  • A lichen has been exposed to the vacuum of outer space and it survived!
  • An oak tree can support over 2,300 species of flora and fauna

Media

Project Lead

Marion Brown

The Challenge

If lost this ancient and precious habitat cannot be re-created.

Our Approach

  • Assess health of woodland 
  • Map habitat and key specimens
  • Remove non-native invasive species
  • Open canopy up to increase light to forest floor
  • reduce bracken and holly 
  • Plant native seedlings/wildflowers
  • Protect from over browsing by deer
© Rusland Horizons 2017 - 2025. All rights reserved.
Rusland Horizons was a Landscape Partnership funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund until July 2019.
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