Most people unaware Britain hosts wildlife-rich rainforests, polling suggests
The poll of more than 2,000 people by Opinion Matters for Plantlife found that 58% thought they understood what a temperate rainforest was.
But 45% associated them with tropical rainforest-rich Brazil, while just one in five (20%) expected them to grow in England, only 12% linked them to Wales, and 13.5% thought they would grow in Scotland, all areas where they are found.
It also found seven in 10 people would be interested in visiting a temperate rainforest, and 88% thought it was important that government makes protecting the habitat a priority.
Temperate rainforests, once known as Atlantic oakwoods or Celtic rainforests, are a globally rare habitat, with just 1% of the world's land providing the wet, mild conditions they need, in places including the western fringes of Europe, the west coast of Canada, Japan and New Zealand.
These habitats once swathed western coasts of England, Wales, Scotland, the island of Ireland and the Isle of Man, but the area of Britain covered by these woodlands has shrunk from a fifth to just 1%, cleared for timber, commercial forestry and agriculture.
The fragments that are left are filled with native trees festooned with mosses, ferns and lichens, and rich in rare wildlife such as pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly and birds including wood warbler, pied flycatcher and redstart.
But those remaining pockets of habitat face multiple threats including isolation, invasive species and rising temperatures which put their unique micro-climate at risk.
Conservationists say scaling up and connecting areas of healthy rainforest habitat, by planting native trees and enabling natural regeneration of the woodlands and species that grow in them, is crucial to making sure they and the wildlife they support can survive in the face of climate change.
Restoring these ancient woodlands can also play a role in tackling climate change, storing carbon and reducing run-off and flooding caused by increasingly heavy rainstorms, they argue.
Adam Thorogood, rainforest programme manager at Plantlife said: 'Britain's rainforests are hiding in plain sight – in places like the west coast of Scotland, Eryri (Snowdonia) in Wales, the Lake District and the fringes of Dartmoor and Exmoor.
'These are ancient places with twisted branches, dappled light and boulders cloaked in mosses and lichens – survivors of Earth's earliest ecosystems, tracing back 400 million years.'
Jenny Hawley, Plantlife's policy and advocacy manager added: 'If Britain's rainforests are to survive, we need an urgent response from governments.
'Political commitments to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity and climate change are worth very little without real action on the ground.
'National rainforest funds, full legal protection and long-term support for rainforest managers are vital steps forward.'
Plantlife, which unveiled the poll ahead of world rainforest day, says it is working with farmers, landowners, governments and communities to protect and restore the UK's remaining temperate rainforests.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Gardeners told mowing the lawn before specific date is 'banned'
Every year gardeners are warned about the perils of cutting the lawn too early, with experts saying people should hold off mowing until a certain date in the summer Garden enthusiasts are being warned against mowing their lawns until a specific date this month. The annual debate on the appropriate timing and method for trimming the grass is once again a hot topic among horticultural experts. In May, gardeners were advised to refrain from cutting the grass entirely. This is due to the fact that long grass supports numerous wildlife populations, ranging from crucial pollinators such as bees and butterflies, to beetles, moths and birds that depend on these insects for sustenance - thereby supporting the entire food chain. READ MORE: Kickers' 'durable' Back to School shoe range that 'last all year' However, gardeners are now being encouraged to hold off on lawn mowing until July 15, according to Sir David Attenborough's recommendation. He urges people to abstain until 'mid-July', while Gardeners' World star Monty Don opts for June 21 as his preferred date, reports This advice has been endorsed by esteemed naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who has urged Britain to 'delay mowing' during the summer months, a plea supported by wildlife experts, reports the Express. This is because insects such as bees, butterflies, and even wasps utilise lawns, especially the daisies, weeds, and wildflowers within them, for breeding, pollination, and maintaining a healthy ecosystem during this season. Mowing the grass disrupts this process, resulting in the death of many insects that are a vital - and increasingly endangered - component of our ecosystem. The extinction of these insects could ultimately lead to our own demise. UK conservation charity Plantlife has issued a stark warning, stating: "We've lost approximately 97% of flower-rich meadows since the 1930s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, like bees and butterflies. "But your lawn can help! A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground. "With over 20 million gardens in the UK, even the smallest grassy patches add up to a significant proportion of our land which, if managed properly, can deliver enormous gains for nature, communities and the climate." Broadcasting legend Sir David, speaking on BBC's Wild Isles nature documentary, highlighted the plight of the UK's meadows: "Nowhere here is richer in wildflowers and insect pollinators than our traditional hay meadows. "Sadly, in the last 60 years, we've lost 97% of this precious habitat. But with nature friendly farming, meadows can be restored to provide a haven for wildlife. "It's all about the timing. Delaying mowing until mid-July allows birds and insects to complete their breeding and flowers to set their seed."
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Griddled lobster medallions with green bean and asparagus salad
A large lobster works best for this dish, as it allows you to cut generous medallions through the shell. You can also use the head and legs to make a rich stock, reducing it down to a syrupy liquid to enhance the dressing. While this step is optional, it's a great way to make full use of the lobster shells – either for the dressing or for another dish like a seafood broth. Takes 1 hour 25 if making the stock Overview Prep time 45 mins Cook time 25 mins Serves 2 to 3 Ingredients 1kg cooked lobster or 2 x 500g lobsters 200g asparagus, woody ends removed 150g green beans, trimmed 100ml fish stock (if you're not making your own) a large handful of small salad leaves per person oil, for brushing For the dressing 1 large shallot, finely chopped 1 tbsp cider vinegar 3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil 2 medium tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed and diced For a quick stock (optional) 1.5 litres fish stock 1 tomato, chopped ½ bulb of garlic ½ tbsp tomato purée about 15 fennel seeds 1 small red onion, peeled, halved and cut into wedges a couple of sprigs of thyme
New Statesman
3 days ago
- New Statesman
The endless variety of England's folk traditions
Photo by Tom Jamieson / New York Times / Redux / eyevine Perhaps there are two kinds of people in the world. There are the collectors, the enthusiasts, who want to keep, save and preserve: 'Nequid pereat,' they might say, 'Let nothing perish.' Then there are the others, already on the phone to the skip-hire company. Lally MacBeth is firmly of the former persuasion. If you're of the latter, The Lost Folk might make you hyperventilate, so crammed is it with places, practices and stuff. The word 'save' appears many times. So indeed does the word 'skip', as in 'saved from a skip'. But persist, because you might see the culture of the UK in an unexpected light. MacBeth says 'Britain', but even in her introduction she apologises for the lack of coverage of the devolved nations; her book stays close to her home in south-west England. It's forgivable: we only have one lifetime and it would take several more to extend her project into the Celtic countries. Generation succeeds generation, and what she wants to save is their multifarious folk productions, old and new. Of folk, MacBeth gives a definition that widens as we go: she means the unofficial, hand-made and localised, the private collections and archives, the pageants and dances, the costumes and cakes. If not physically saved, then everything must at least be documented, and the means of recording archived too. She writes: 'We must use all means of recording to build a full picture of the customs, traditions, people and places of Britain, and we must work to preserve all methods of documentation.' This picture is not just of the past, not only tradition or lore, but of now and the future because 'folk' is happening, arising and emerging everywhere. In MacBeth's mind, her own predecessors now need saving. 'The Lost People' she calls them, meaning the early folklorists and folk collectors. Many have fallen from view, especially the women. Cecil Sharp, active at the turn of the 20th century, remains well known as the 'collector of folk song and reinventor of Morris dancing'. But despite being 'tireless', Sharp managed, in McBeth's opinion, to 'write women and people of colour out of his work… creating a folk that suited him: sanitised, classist, racist and very, very male'. To counteract that, MacBeth introduces us to an alternative roster of folk-collectors, often female. From Victorian days into the mid-20th century, there were women who travelled about gathering recipes, stories, costumes, tools and 'country ways' just as these were dying out, and whose notebooks and collections were often dispersed or destroyed when they died. It sounds harmless but collecting was not without tensions: it could get competitive and, as MacBeth again notes, classist, with one social class (usually the upper-middle) making judgements about what was worth saving from among the productions of the lower orders. The invention of recording equipment was revolutionary, with people's voices and dialects also able to be saved, as well as their tales and tools. There was, for example, Dorothy Hartley, born in 1893 in Yorkshire. Hartley cycled around collecting and interviewing and sketching. Thanks to her we know how to thatch a haystack, or bake bread in a brick oven. Others collected objects. Eva and Edward Pinto of Middlesex favoured 'wooden bygones': butter pats, mangles, hand-made boxes, toy animals and the like. They created a collection which soon outgrew their house, spilling into sheds and chalets and mocked up shops, which the public could view. Yet others were more nautically minded. In Gravesend, in a building fitted out like a ship, Sydney 'Long John Silver' Cumbers amassed a huge number of ships' figureheads. Cumbers sported an eyepatch, cigarette holder and yachting cap when he showed visitors around. MacBeth's embrace even includes 'living' collections – or what photos and notes now remain. Upon retiring in the 1940s, the Welsh miner David Davis turned his hand to topiary, creating in his garden a 'mystical paradise' of tableaux, mostly biblical: there were bushes cut to look like angels, and a hedge shaped like the Last Supper. Many came to see it. One might ask: was it art? To which the author would reply – it was certainly folk. 'If it's by the people, for the people, it is 'folk'.' Therefore, she welcomes the local parades and festivities up and down the land as folk. Hastings has an annual Jack in the Green festival as part of May Day, with Morris dancers, giants, milkmaids and choirs. There is Lewes's famous effigy burning. Penzance now has its mid-winter Moltol. Since 2017, Toxteth has held its own Day of the Dead, no less folk for being a modern introduction, and hardly traditional. Indeed, when it comes to tradition, there existed what MacBeth calls 'uncomfortable folk practice'. In Morris dancing, once the preserve of men, gender roles are now being contested. Molly dancing used to refer to men dressed as women, but today there are women's teams (or 'sides') of Molly dancers. In Bristol, the term has been reclaimed by a group called Molly No Mates, a 'queer drag Molly dancing team'. Some traditional Morris dances involved blackface, but in 2020, the Joint Morris Organisation agreed to ban the practice. 'It was a monumental moment in the history of Morris dancing,' says MacBeth. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Pageants and galas are one thing, but what astonishes is the folk-stuff: the gloves and garlands, horse brasses and love spoons, pub signs and special cakes, the button badges, corn dollies, and 'obby 'osses. And it is everywhere, especially in pubs – and also in churches, where there are church kneelers, a special passion of MacBeth's. These are women's work, often embroidered to depict local scenes or stories. But the question keeps arising: if all must be saved – or at the very least recorded – what should be done with it? And where should it be kept? And who decides what goes where? 'Where people collect together of their own volition, there is folk, and it is not for collectors to judge the ways in which this happens or how the objects are made.' When decisions are made – when official museum curators judge that something should be brought in from the wild – it can be political. Take Sydney Cumbers' collection of figureheads: in 1953, he donated them to the Cutty Sark, where they are now displayed. MacBeth believes the fact that his collection was accepted 'was due in no small part to his… standing as a white male'. In contrast, there have been several efforts to establish an official museum of Romany culture, assembled from private collections, but all have floundered. The book itself is a veritable trove. There is no index. Perhaps appropriately, one has to rummage. MacBeth herself spends a lot of time in junk shops, on Ebay, or in county archives, searching for photos and newspaper reports, noting and saving. Folk, she says, is what gives us a sense of place and belonging. Perhaps she's right about that – and perhaps folk is what will save us from the samey-ness of our high streets, the soullessness of our new-build housing estates. It might be a council-sponsored pirate parade, or even – ye gods – a knitted post-box topper. If it's a real, of-the-people creation or event, she says, it's worth recording, worth getting involved. We just have to alert ourselves to its existence. And cancel the skip. Kathleen Jamie's books include 'Cairn' (Sort of Books) The Lost Folk: From the Forgotten Past to the Emerging Future of Folk Lally MacBeth Faber & Faber, 352pp, £20 Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from who support independent bookshops [See also: Jacinda Ardern's unexamined life] Related
