
Glen Auldyn rainforest to be Isle of Man's largest nature reserve
Plans to create the Isle of Man's largest nature reserve as part of a £38m temperate rainforest restoration scheme have been revealed.The Wildlife Trusts programme aims to re-establish "rare and biodiverse" rainforests across the world, aiming to remove 800,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere.Land at Glen Auldyn on the outskirts of Ramsey is to become home to a variety of trees, set to evolve over many decades, marking the second project of its kind in the island.Manx Wildlife Trust chief executive Leigh Morris said it would "connect fragments of forest in the north of the island" and "coherently join them together".
Creg y Cowin in East Baldwin was named in 2023 as one of the first places to benefit from the recovery project.But the 750 acres (303 hectares) zoned for planting in Glen Auldyn represents the largest area to enter the programme so far.
Mr Morris said: "Its size provides a fantastic opportunity for landscape scale nature conservation and creates a model for how the Isle of Man uplands could be managed in the future."We're really hoping that this glen and the moorland that goes with it becomes an example of how the wildlife trust and the local community and farming can really work together."
The site is set to become over seven times the size of the island's largest nature reserve.Tree seeds have been gathered from glens across the island, to be grown at a nursery in the nearby Milntown Estate.Species include the native Manx oak, downy birch, mountain ash, holly, alder, willows, and hazel. Mr Morris said MWT also hoped the reserve would encourage more diverse wildlife back to the area. He said ring ouzels and wood warblers no longer nested on the island, but "maybe they'll come back when we build that forest".While the funding from the scheme had enabled the project to be brought forward, Mr Morris said it had been a long term goal of the organisation. He said it was "in the ambition of Manx Wildlife Trust for decades" and was "part of a whole ambition to try to connect fragments of forest in the north of the island and try and coherently join them together"."There's a far stronger longer term ambition about the north of the island and bringing woodlands and forest back. It's a special moment," he added.
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
UK wildlife numbers are falling despite increase in number of trees
Wildlife numbers in the UK are falling despite a small increase in the number of trees, a new report says. The findings, published by charity the Woodland Trust, show both the quantity and variety of wildlife is going down That's despite a rise in woodland cover, which describes how much of a particular area of land is covered by trees. The conservation charity says the UK needs to improve the condition and scale of its woodlands to tackle wildlife loss. The Woodland Trust says the decline of wildlife is down to the fall in the biodiversity woodlands have seen over time. Biodiversity is all about the variety of plants, animals and other living things found in a specific environment or place. Butterflies, woodland birds, dormice and lots of different plant species have all seen a significant fall in their numbers over the years, according to the report. Ancient and veteran trees, which are really important for wildlife because of their unique characteristics which provide food and places for animals and organisms to live, have also seen a fall in numbers. "UK woodlands lack open spaces, such as glades, which allow light to reach the forest floor and young trees to grow," said Abigail Bunker who is the director of conservation and external affairs at the Woodland Trust. "There are also fewer older trees, which, along with their soils, lock in carbon from the atmosphere. Alarmingly, many British woodlands have very few - if any - ancient and veteran trees left."While woodland cover increased from 13.2% of UK land in 2020 to 13.5% in 2024, the report says just 45% of the government's targets for increased woodland was met over those four also points to recommendations from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to increase the number of trees in the UK as part of government plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to also tackle climate change. What else is in the report? The Woodland Trust's report also highlights the impact woodlands have on wellbeing and communities, with nine in 10 people agreeing woodland biodiversity has a positive impact through things like birdsong or the sound of rustling leaves, according to a poll. "We are calling on the government and others to invest in the management of our woodlands, so that people and wildlife can experience the benefits of these precious ecosystems..." said Ms Bunker. "It's also vital that the government start hitting their tree-planting targets, so that there is time to grow the veteran trees of the future and help shape woodlands to better withstand challenges like new diseases, or rising temperatures."The government's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said, "Trees are really important for helping the planet and for protecting animals and nature."We are spending £400 million to plant more trees and are working hard to take care of our woodlands so they can help all types of wildlife."


BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
Volunteers asked to plant grass to protect Cornish dunes
Residents in Cornwall have been invited to plant grass at the dunes of a Cornish beach to try and stop changes to sand National Trust and the Making Space For Sand project said "dramatic changes" had been seen to the dunes at Crantock Beach in recent said the dune system was a "dynamic environment" which would continue to shift and change over time but it was changing too Pickard, a National Trust ranger, said an increase in planting marram grass would help with spring tides and stormy weather. She said: "The dunes are important for wildlife but also to provide a natural defence against increasing storms and rising sea levels."Planting more marram grass aims to improve biodiversity and also binds with the sand to reduce erosion of the dunes."The trust said it was working with Plymouth University to understand how the beach and dunes could change in the long term and to help plan for the event will take place on Wednesday from 10:00 BST.A spokesperson said anyone was welcome to join in and no experience was necessary.


BBC News
17 hours ago
- BBC News
New Catholic bishop set to be installed at cathedral in Douglas
A new Catholic bishop will be officially installed in Douglas Sherrington was named as Archbishop of Liverpool by the late Pope Francis in early April. The archdiocese includes the Isle of is due to formally assume his new role following a ceremony at the Church of Saint Mary of the Isle at 14:00 Sherrington's installation at his "co-cathedral" - Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral, 80 miles (129km) away across the Irish Sea - took place on 27 May. In addition to the Isle of Man, the archdiocese covers Merseyside as well as parts of Cheshire and Greater Manchester, and an area of Lancashire south-west of the River elevation of the Manx cathedral in November 2023 followed Douglas being awarded city status as part of the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. Archbishop Sherrington moves from the Diocese of Westminster to succeed the Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon OP, who has been in the post since May McMahon submitted his resignation to the late pontiff last year, having reached the usual retirement age for bishops of Sherrington was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Nottingham in was also ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and Titular Bishop of Hilta in 2011. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.