Warning of ‘massive crisis’ for nature in England as new project launched to restore rare habitat

His comments come as the Trust launches a new project in Kettlewell, North Yorkshire, to restore the region’s temperate rainforests.

Mr Leadley said: “Nature is in a massive crisis in this country. We live in one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, particularly in Europe.

“We’ve lost so much natural habitat, but the decline still continues despite our best efforts, so the more land we can secure for the future, and start to improve it for nature, the more we will help nature recover.

“Nature provides a whole range of benefits to us, from keeping our water clean to restoring water in the uplands to help us with droughts, or protecting us from flooding. If we don’t help nature recover, it's going to collapse, and we will suffer."

Destroyed over hundreds of years by clearance, grazing and land conversion, temperate rainforests used to grow along the damper, western climes of the British Isles, yet now cover less than one per cent of their former range.

But a new scheme, led by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, will now seek to restore around 40 acres of temperate rainforest at a recently established nature reserve near Kettlewell, North Yorkshire.

Launched in partnership with Aviva, the project will use tree planting alongside other nature restoration techniques in a bid to reestablish the rare habitat, as well as carefully managing the site’s limestone grassland, caves and streams.

“This is a kind of unknown habitat, primarily because a lot of it has been lost,” said Jono Leadley, north regional manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

“Temperate rainforest is typified by a climate which is very wet. It doesn't really get very cold, and doesn't get very hot and dry in summer either.

“Obviously, most of our well-known rainforest is in the tropics, but temperate rainforest is actually a lot rarer, because you need a very specific set of circumstances. Here in the UK, there are only really fragments left.”

Also known as Atlantic woodland or Celtic rainforest, temperate rainforests are typically home to a high number of mosses, lichens and liverworts – small plants that can cover tree trunks and branches and carpet the floor. They are also home to a range of ferns and other plants, as well as tree species including sessile oak, birch, rowan, holly, alder, willow and hazel.

In addition to plant life, temperate rainforests are capable of providing a home to rare wildlife including red squirrels and pine martens, as well as threatened birds such as wood warblers, redstarts, and pied flycatchers.

“What you get with all that climatic influence is these amazing woodlands that are just dripping in mosses and ferns,” adds Leadley.

“It's just green everywhere, plants growing on plants, and plants growing on those plants. It really is a fantastic looking system.

“If you imagine what you expect a tropical rainforest to look like, it's very similar, but not as hot, and the plants involved are different.”

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is currently undertaking surveying works at the site to identify the best areas to replant trees.

The group will follow this work with an impact assessment, with hopes of planting the first trees on the site in December of this year. The trust will also be seeking local volunteers to help with the planting.

The project comes alongside the group opening a new nature reserve on the site, titled Park Gill.

As well as being home to limestone grassland, the reserve is notable for its rare wildflowers such as bird’s-eye primrose, mountain everlasting and grass-of-Parnassus.

Wildlife including short-eared owls have also already been spotted on-site.

Speaking on the wider need for nature restoration,Leadley added: “The other side of this is the climate crisis. We are top of the food chain, and we will suffer if climate breakdown starts to happen. Last year, everywhere was flooding, this year, everywhere is in drought, and I think people are now really starting to realise that this is happening, and we really need to do what we can to slow this down.

“Planting lots of trees and restoring wildlife habitats is all helping in that fight against climate change.”