When most people think of a rainforest, they envision the lush, tropical forests like the Amazon Rainforest. While equatorial regions are home to the majority of these forests, cooler coastal areas north of the equator have their own unique rainforest systems known as temperate rainforests. Dr. Christopher Ellis, an ecologist and lichenologist from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, explains that “Temperate rainforests are forests and woodlands that occur in a cool and consistently moist climate, and this includes the type of climate we have along the western side of Britain where we find our own temperate rainforest.”

The United Kingdom’s temperate rainforests, often called the Celtic or Atlantic rainforests of Great Britain, were once thriving ecosystems, home to unique flora, fauna, and wildlife. Unfortunately, like many wooded regions around the world, Great Britain’s temperate rainforests have been significantly degraded. Today, only fragmented zones remain. At one point, in the South West England regions of Cornwall and Devon, temperate rainforests covered roughly 75 percent of the land. Over the years, climate change, logging, invasive species, and mismanagement have led to a 90 percent loss of these ancient woodlands.

In the early 1970s, Ken Watkins, who grew up enchanted by the temperate rainforest near his home in Devon, decided to take action. With the help of some like-minded friends, he founded the Woodland Trust to protect, rehabilitate, and expand these rainforests. The nonprofit organization purchased its first woodland, Avon Valley Woods, in 1973, setting in motion a journey that would lead to the protection of over 1,000 woodland sites and the planting of more than 68 million trees.

Along the way, the Woodland Trust has gained many supporters, including government backing. The United Kingdom government has announced plans to invest in Woodland Trust projects to help reach its goal of protecting 30 percent of ancient woodlands by 2030. To achieve these goals, the Woodland Trust has partnered with the South West Rainforest Alliance to use drone technology in a novel way. The project is being led by Sam Manning, who is eager to explore how modern technology can accelerate the restoration of Great Britain’s ancient rainforests.

The plan is to use large drones to plant trees, creating new woodlands in hard to reach places. “Restoring and expanding our temperate rainforests are vital to solving the climate and biodiversity crises. A key part of that is developing innovative methods of woodland creation which are faster, cheaper and reach inaccessible sites unsafe for human tree planters, or places where soils are too thin for planting with spades,” Sam said. “Drones are potentially much faster and cheaper at dispersing seeds than volunteers. The other aspect is safety and accessibility. Many potential woodland creation sites are either too steep, unsafe or remote for people to plant or scatter seeds. Drones can help solve these issues by removing the safety and accessibility limitations of humans.”

This is not the first time drones have been used in reforestation. Several organizations have successfully used drones to map and plan reforestation strategies, followed by drone-based seed planting. Agricultural-grade, heavy-lift drones are fitted with tanks that carry specially designed seed pods, scientifically formulated with all the nutrients needed for a plant to grow. Following a pre-programmed flight path, an operator triggers the drone to shoot seed pods into the soil at precise locations and altitudes to ensure optimal planting.

However, Sam and the Woodland Trust are aiming higher than previous efforts, literally and figuratively. They plan to cover vast areas in record time using a drone much larger than those typically used in reforestation. Sam’s drone is capable of carrying over 130 pounds of seeds. The first phase of the project has already been completed, with the drone successfully seeding 11 hectares of land in just eight hours. The team plans to monitor the growth closely and repeat the process with more drones, all in the hope of restoring the ancient beauty of Great Britain’s temperate rainforests.

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