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High Wood

Woodland restoration near Liskeard

By Greg Annandale

January 24^th, 2023

High Wood in Liskeard is an ancient woodland that's been repeatedly clear-felled since the 1960s, and doesn't have a single ancient tree. Large sections of the ground are devoid of much growth due to non-native conifers dumping acid into the soil and preventing anything else from growing there, and the clear-felling has left huge chunks of the land scarred.

Good friend, Phil Sturgeon, runs the charity Protect Earth which managed to raise funds to buy the woodland last year, and I spent a short while in the late Summer visiting the woods and documenting their beauty (though, as you'll see below, the conifers are massively holding things back).

In November, the Forestry Commission granted approval to restore High Wood to a temperate rainforest.

A number of conifers can now be taken down, used as mulch for the natural regeneration and species reintroduction we plan to start this current Winter, bringing in tree species that are just not in the area but should be.

As a result, 64 acres of brand new temperate rainforest is going to be produced, over time. Wildlife, carbon sequestration, and community involvement, are all about to go through the roof.

Come and help Protect Earth on a variety of tree planting days throughout the Winter, or perhaps donate some money to help us keep planting and buying more land to regenerate :)