Friends of the Lake District has launched an appeal to help restore one of Cumbria’s rarest habitats. With the charity calling on the public to support work in the Rusland Valley. Donations made through the Big Give Earth Raise campaign between 12pm on April 22nd and 12pm on April 29th will be matched pound for pound, doubling the value of each gift.
The appeal centres on efforts to protect and expand temperate rainforest in the Lake District. Friends of the Lake District says it is about to take on additional adjoining woodland. Increasing the area in its care from a restored 17 acres to around 72 acres.
Temperate rainforest is one of the UK’s rarest habitats. Friends of the Lake District says these landscapes once covered about 20% of the UK, but now account for less than 1%, despite supporting rich communities of mosses, lichens, fungi and ferns in the damp, sheltered conditions found in parts of Cumbria.
Why the appeal matters
The charity says the Rusland Valley project is a rare chance to revive an internationally scarce habitat before more is lost. According to Friends of the Lake District, these woods are under pressure from non-native species, disease, pollution and climate change. Making restoration work increasingly urgent.
The work planned on the expanded site includes habitat surveys, species monitoring, veteran tree care, glade creation and invasive species control. The charity says its earlier restoration work in Bull Coppice and Resp Haw Wood has already shown what can be achieved on a smaller scale.
A hidden part of Cumbria’s landscape
While many people may associate rainforests with tropical climates, temperate rainforests also exist in places with high rainfall, humidity and mild temperatures. Friends of the Lake District says Cumbria has some of the right conditions for this habitat. Particularly in the Rusland Valley, where ancient woodland, rocky outcrops and dry-stone walls help create sheltered microclimates for rare species.
The charity’s land manager, Jan Darrall, said the idea of rainforest in Cumbria captures people’s imagination. While volunteer Marion Brown described the woods as places where “every tree, rocky outcrop and dry-stone wall is like a mini city” for wildlife.
Donations to be doubled for one week
A major part of the appeal is the match-funding window later this month. Friends of the Lake District says any public donation made through the Big Give Earth Raise platform during the campaign period will be doubled, giving supporters a bigger chance to help fund the restoration work.
The appeal forms part of Earth Raise, which the charity describes as the UK’s largest environmental match-funding initiative. It is urging people who want to support the project to donate during the April 22 to April 29 window so their money goes further.
What happens next
If the fundraising target is met, Friends of the Lake District plans to build on its previous rainforest restoration work and begin caring for the larger woodland area in the Rusland Valley. The project is aimed at improving the long-term health of the habitat and helping protect the species that depend on it.
For Cumbria, the appeal is about more than just trees. It is also about protecting a rare part of the county’s natural heritage while there is still time to restore it.
