AMBITIOUS plans to restore lost Cumbrian rainforest habitat and create ‘England’s highest nature reserve’, including the summit of Skiddaw, will need the public’s help.
Legendary mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington is among those backing the Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s public appeal to help buy Skiddaw Forest.
The charity said it aims to restore a huge, lost area of Atlantic rainforest as part of its 100-year vision for bringing back wildlife to the lower slopes of what would be the highest nature reserve in England.
Skiddaw Forest is not currently wooded – ‘forest’ in this context comes from the old use of the word forest, meaning hunting ground. Instead, it’s a vast area of moorland, upland heath and peatland, which includes three Lake District fell summits – Skiddaw, Great Calva and Little Calva.
The Trust said that these wildlife habitats are ecologically valuable and need to be carefully protected.
But its century-long plan for Skiddaw Forest also includes re-creating 620 acres – around 20 per cent of the site – of native Atlantic Rainforest on part of the slopes.
This is a unique and exciting opportunity to create England’s highest nature reserve and, working with farmers and the local community, we urgently need to put more wildlife back into a much-loved and spectacular part of Cumbria,” said Stephen Trotter, CEO of Cumbria Wildlife Trust.
The Trust paints a picture of restoring temperate rainforests to areas they once grew. Native trees will grow through natural regeneration from local seed as well as by planting locally-grown saplings. In the wet environment of north-west England, these trees will eventually be covered in mosses and lichens.
As part of a ‘tapestry of life’, the area could be home to iconic species such as red squirrel and pine marten.
The land has not been grazed or farmed for several years, the Trust said, but added it respects ‘the cultural and historical landscape’ of Skiddaw Forest.
Open public access to the fell – including Skiddaw’s summit – would be secured
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