Work is underway to restore one of Northern Ireland’s rarest and most precious woodland habitats – temperate rainforest – at Lenamore Wood, near Gortin in Omagh.

The ambitious 100-year restoration programme is being led by local nature conservation charity Ulster Wildlife, thanks to a long-term partnership with Aviva.

Temperate rainforest, also known as Atlantic Oakwood or Celtic Rainforest, once thrived across Ireland and western Britain, in areas of high rainfall and high humidity. However, centuries of deforestation have reduced it to less than 1% of its former range, making it rarer and more threatened than tropical rainforest.

Almost 30,000 native trees of Irish provenance, such as oak, alder and rowan, have been planted on the 41-acre site. This will boost the tiny, rare fragment of ancient woodland that still survives here, home to red squirrels and carpets of bluebells, helping it to develop into a more connected and resilient rainforest.

Almost 30,000 native trees of Irish provenance, including oak, alder and rowan, have been planted at Lenamore Wood near Gortin, Omagh, to help restore one of Northern Ireland’s rarest habitats – temperate rainforest. The ambitious project is led by Ulster Wildlife in partnership with Aviva.

placeholder image — Almost 30,000 native trees of Irish provenance, including oak, alder and rowan, have been planted at Lenamore Wood near Gortin, Omagh, to help restore one of Northern Ireland’s rarest habitats – temperate rainforest. The ambitious project is led by Ulster Wildlife in partnership with Aviva.

In addition, hundreds of sessile oak acorns from ancient woodland near Gortin were collected under licence from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. The young trees will be planted at Lenamore next year, helping preserve the local genetic heritage of the woodland.

As the woodland at Lenamore matures, it will play a vital role in helping to bring back the long-lost temperate rainforest habitat and the specialist species which depend upon it for survival, such as Irish stoats, threatened birds such as wood warbler, and a host of mosses, ferns and fungi.

Members of the public had the opportunity to experience the charity’s newest nature reserve first-hand at a recent open day, where they walked among the newly planted trees and planted a tree of their own – leaving a lasting mark on the nature reserve’s future.

Speaking at the event, Minister Muir said: “I am delighted to be here as Ulster Wildlife celebrates the completion of tree planting at this important woodland site at Lenamore. This project is a powerful example of the importance of increasing woodland cover to enhance biodiversity and provide greater opportunities for people to enjoy the health and well-being benefits of woodlands.

He added: “I am particularly pleased that my department has been able to support this project with over £100,000 through the Forest Expansion Scheme – the largest tree planting grant awarded this year.”

In time, the cool, humid conditions at Lenamore will help the new woodland to develop characteristics of a temperate rainforest. Temperate rainforest typically has a high number of mosses, lichens and liverworts, small plants that can cover tree trunks and branches, and carpet the floor, along with a range of ferns and other plants. 

Rosemary Mulholland, head of nature recovery at Ulster Wildlife, said: “We are proud to be leading the way in temperate rainforest restoration locally, and Lenamore is the ideal location. It will provide vital habitat for wildlife in the midst of a nature crisis, store large amounts of carbon, and benefit local communities for generations to come. Restoring this incredible habitat will also allow adaptation to climate change, reduce threats from extreme weather, and enable local people to reap the benefits. These are exciting times.”

Lenamore Wood Nature Reserve will be open to the public in due course, offering a place where people can come and find out more about a temperate rainforest and watch its development over time. Local communities in the Gortin area will be closely involved in the rainforest recovery project and will benefit from increased access to nature, volunteering, and educational opportunities.

Remnants of ancient temperate rainforest still survive at Lenamore Wood near Gortin, Omagh. Ulster Wildlife plans to expand and restore this rare habitat through an ambitious long-term rainforest recovery project supported by Aviva.

The restoration of this precious habitat is part of a wider £38 million temperate rainforest recovery programme across the UK, funded by Aviva and led by the Wildlife Trusts.

Claudine Blamey, Aviva’s chief sustainability officer, said: “Aviva is proud to play its part in the restoration of temperate rainforest in Northern Ireland. The work by Ulster Wildlife will bring flood resilience benefits and tackle nature loss and climate change, helping the local community get ready for the future.”

To find out more, visit ulsterwildlife.org/nature-reserves