National Lottery Heritage Fund grants £6 million to restore Scottish rainforest

The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded nearly £6 million to a five-year project called Our Rainforest Futures to restore rare Atlantic rainforest in Scotland.

The Woodland Trust Scotland leads the project in partnership with several other organizations, including Plantlife and RSPB Scotland. The initiative aims to protect and restore approximately 75,000 acres of rain-soaked woodlands on the west coast, which are home to rare oceanic plant life, lichens, and glow worms.

The project will establish three hubs in Torridon, Morvern, and mid-Argyll to involve local communities in habitat restoration. Workers will manage deer populations, remove invasive plant species, and combat diseases that threaten the woodland. The project also intends to create more than 20 jobs and 15 trainee positions for people in these coastal areas. Caroline Clark of the National Lottery Heritage Fund noted that a 2025 survey showed fewer than one in three people knew the rainforest existed.

The project seeks to link the survival of the forest with the economic future of west coast communities.