Temperate Rainforest on the Exmoor Coast
Our aim is to establish the longest continuous stretch of temperate rainforest along the Exmoor Coast, linking West Exmoor and West Somerset across 35 miles of connected habitats.
Temperate rainforests, also known as Atlantic or Celtic rainforests, are characterised by their wet climate, making them the perfect home for a unique variety of rare ferns, mosses, lichens and other wildlife including pine martens and pied flycatchers. They are also a key player in protecting both the UK’s biodiversity and helping to tackle climate change. However, over centuries much of the UK's temperate rainforest has been lost, due to air pollution, non-native invasive species, deforestation, intensive land management and diseases like ash dieback.
We have already begun to increase our woodlands and we are continuing to expand this work across the whole of Exmoor coast. With a landscape-scale approach, we aim to restore and protect this vital habitat for both wildlife and people.
Conservation grazing
We are implementing conservation grazing across 1,800 hectares with the use of Old English Longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies and Mangalitsa pigs. These animals each have a different style of grazing and browsing, which contributes to a more natural environment. Pigs turn up the soil and allow plants to seed, cattle browse and break up vegetation which allows more light to reach the ground, and pony grazing creates patches of short sward. All of this encourages diverse plant growth and results in a healthier habitat where wildflowers, insects, and all the species that rely on them can thrive.
The cattle are fitted with “no-fence” collars. These relatively new pieces of equipment allow the cows to be tracked using GPS and mean that we can use virtual patch margins to contain them without the use of fences.
