Isle of Man Surpasses Rainforest Goal: 30,000 Trees Planted in Manx Temperate Forest

The Manx Wildlife Trust announced in April 2026 that its ambitious Atlantic temperate rainforest restoration project at Creg y Cowin has surpassed its original planting goal, putting 30,000 native trees in the ground and expanding the restoration footprint from 70 to 100 acres. The site on the Isle of Man will become one of the largest new areas of temperate rainforest regenerated in the British Isles.

Atlantic temperate rainforest — damp, moss-covered woodland full of oak, rowan, birch and a riot of lichens — once cloaked much of Britain's western coasts but now survives only in fragments, making it rarer than tropical rainforest globally. The Creg y Cowin project pairs tree planting with natural regeneration, using stock grown from locally collected seed to maintain the genetic character of the island's original flora.

“The site on the Isle of Man will become one of the largest new areas of temperate rainforest regenerated in the British Isles.”

Graham Makepeace-Warne, who leads the trust's rainforest work, said the project's success reflects years of community engagement, fundraising and hard planting weather. Volunteers, schools and corporate teams have helped plant trees through rain and wind, and the trust has expanded partnerships with landowners to enlarge the restoration zone. The new woodland will store carbon, filter water, buffer stream flows and provide habitat for rare species like tree lungwort and woodland birds.

The Isle of Man has positioned itself as a small but ambitious player in UK climate and biodiversity strategy, and the rainforest project is now a national example. The trust plans to continue expanding the site and to share lessons with mainland groups working to rebuild similar rainforest patches in western Scotland, Wales and Cornwall — part of a regional revival of an ecosystem that was once assumed lost.