Top ten rainforest highlights from 2025

Credit Olly Ritchie (Original Visuals)

2025 was another great year for Scotland’s rainforest, from conservation wins to community action and new research. Here are some of the standout moments to celebrate and remember.

1) The ASR produced its first progress report – charting how Scotland’s rainforest has risen from being a virtually unknown habitat to one of Scotland’s top priorities over the past five years.

2) Three new ASR Focus Projects were adopted in 2025, bringing the total to 11 projects altogether covering 300,000ha – including 38% of the core rainforest zone. And there are more in the pipeline…

3) ASR Focus Projects also received a cash boost from NatureScot’s Nature Restoration Fund – enabling project development and delivery across the rainforest zone.

4) The Our Rainforest Futures project development phase has been highly successful, and the team have been very active with surveys and research, and attending events such as the Craignish Lantern Festival.  It all shows the extent of interest and engagement in rainforest communities, and puts the team on course to apply for funding for a five-year delivery phase.

Credit Helen Mason

5) BBC Countryfile visited the rainforest woodlands of Morvern and caught up with the RSPB team removing rhododendron from remote areas – and spotted a white tailed eagle or two. This episode will be leaving iPlayer in February 2026.

6) Cross-party, strong support for Scotland’s rainforest was reaffirmed by MSPs ahead of World Rainforest Day at a photoshoot in the Scottish Parliament.

7) The FIRNS-funded Saving Scotland’s Rainforest with Natural Capital Finance Project produced a final report, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of using natural capital finance for restoration.

8) Numerous new job were created across the rainforest zone, including rainforest restoration team workers, natural heritage officers, and community engagement roles. Training and upskilling initiatives were also expanded, including drone surveys and deer management.

9) New research projects were launched, including mapping and modelling of Britain’s temperate rainforests and studies on climate change impacts. The ASR website now hosts MSc opportunities for students.

10) Forestry and Land Scotland set a new benchmark in its rainforest restoration efforts for 2024-25, with 1226 hectares of restoration – up from 930ha in 2023-24. They were also visited by Landward to film their battle against rhododendron on Wester Ross.