Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest

Ten tick facts — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest Scotland’s rainforest is brilliant for wildlife, but that does include ticks. If you’re out and about in the rainforest this summer, it’s good to be aware of these tiny terrors, and take some…

If you like wandering #ScotlandsRainforest and diving regularly into the undergrowth to investigate interesting lichens or mosses, then you need to be tick-aware! Check out these ten tick tips.
buff.ly/BLWeRr7

A light brown lumpy fungus growing among lichens and mosses

A light brown fungus growing among lichens and liverworts

Hazel gloves is an odd-looking fungus that's a specialist of hazel trees in temperate rainforest. It doesn't parasitise the tree but instead grows on another fungus, called the glue crust fungus, which sticks branches together.
📷 Ben Mitchell & Jenny Tweedie #ScotlandsRainforest

An orange butterfly with white markings sitting a dead leaf

There's still time to take part in the Big Butterfly Count! If you live in the rainforest zone, look out for species like the pearl-bordered fritillary 👇 buff.ly/4pAZzyX #ScotlandsRainforest
📷 Peter Eeles

Guided Walk of the Pinewood Join us for a stroll through the majestic pinewood of Gleann Shìldeag, part of Scotland's rainforest.

Join @wtscotsocial.bsky.social for a walk at Gleann Shildeag on Saturday 16 August at 10.30am. #ScotlandsRainforest

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A dark wood with twisted, ancient trees growing out of grass and ferns, the narrow trunks covered in green mosses.

The hazelwoods of #ScotlandsRainforest are ancient, special places, some of them stretching back 10,000 years. Today their unique habitat is home to incredible wildlife, including rare mosses, liverworts & lichens. This is Ballachuan buff.ly/1pmH1SD
📷 John MacPherson

Rhododendron ponticum: The plant haunting our wild spaces | Natural History Museum Rhododendron ponticum is a problematic, ornamental species that has left a lasting legacy across the UK.

Great to see this article from
@nhm-london.bsky.social
#ProblemPonticum #RhododendronPonticum #ScotlandsRainforest @wtscotsocial.bsky.social @plantlifeuk.bsky.social @rspbscotland.bsky.social @actinargyll.bsky.social @n-t-s.bsky.social
nhm.ac.uk/discover/rho...

Landward - 2025: Episode 11 Dougie is in Motherwell to visit Baron’s Haugh Nature Reserve, an urban wetland along the River Clyde. Elsewhere, Shahbaz visits one of Wester Ross's ancient Caledonian pine forests.

Great piece on BBC Landward a few weeks back, about rhododendron removal in #ScotlandsRainforest. Catch up with it here, 16 minutes in

Scots lab says tick testing enquiries have doubled this year Scots must take steps to protect themselves from the risk of ticks during the summer months, a Scottish science firm has said amidst rising…

It's good to see a growing awareness of ticks in Scotland. If you're out and about this summer, check the tick guidance, and carry a tick remover!

True or False? Rainforest Facts Quiz - Woodland Trust How does Britain's rainforest compare to its tropical cousins? What are the plants, animals and climate like? Learn about amazing rainforests with our quiz.

Take the Woodland Trust's temperate rainforest quiz!

Lush autumnal forest scene with a moss-covered stream flowing through dense foliage, surrounded by green trees, plants, and shrubs in a serene, natural setting.

Close-up of moss with delicate stalks and spore capsules, set against a blurred background with brown leaves and natural elements.

So, while temperate rainforests only started to form about 65 million years ago, mosses and liverworts can be traced back even further! Who knew it…📜

For more rainforest facts 👉 www.plantlife.org.uk/10-fun-fasci...

📷Kate Hind/Ian Price

The beautiful birch tree — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest Birch is the most common tree found in Scotland's rainforest, but it's often sadly, overlooked. There are actually three species of birch in Scotland, and they're linked to folklore, place names, and ...

What's the most common tree found in #ScotlandsRainforest? Would it surprise you to learn that it's the birch?
savingscotlandsrainforest.org.uk/blog/the-bea...

Thanks for your feedback.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Identification Guides — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest

Also, everyone is welcome to ask for a species ID if they want to know more! There are also some fantastic ID resources available on our website: savingscotlandsrainforest.org.uk/resources-id...

Hi Caz, I respect your position. I know it has always been the norm to include species names when discussing lichens, and I do sometimes use them. I can only imagine that it's jarring to see them missing. But my genuine aim is to interest people in this subject and I feel this is the best approach.

Highland estate as big as Glasgow to be revitalised - Woodland Trust Assynt Foundation, Woodland Trust Scotland and Aviva have struck a 30-year deal to revitalise a vast area in the northwest Highlands of Scotland.

Assynt Foundation, Woodland Trust Scotland and Aviva have struck a 30-year deal to protect, restore and expand a range of habitats, including the most northerly rainforest in Scotland.

Hi Caz. We choose not to use scientific names in some contexts, to avoid excluding people who may not have a scientific background, or who find the names challenging. There aren't names used in this post at all, as it was intended to show the wondrous variety of lichens found in our rainforest.

Ultra-blue-violet #HarebellChallenge in a wildflower tapestry along the banks of the Strontian River, Ariundle NNR for #wildflowerhour @asrainforest.bsky.social @BSBIScotland.bsky.social @PlantlifeScot.bsky.social

Lost elms in Scotland's rainforest — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest Elm trees once covered great swathes of Europe and North America, but they’ve been ravaged by Dutch Elm Disease. This deadly fungal infection, spread by beetles, has now killed over 25 million trees…

When was the last time you saw an elm tree? Have you ever seen one? They used to be a common sight across the UK, but then Dutch elm disease changed our landscapes forever. But, in a quiet corner of Assynt, elm trees are thriving. Find out how

Projects across the rainforest zone — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest Rainforest restoration can only take place on a landscape scale, where there is an opportunity to deliver real and lasting benefits. These are the current projects.

#ScotlandsRainforest zone contains some of the most biodiverse areas of temperate rainforest in Europe. The ASR's focus projects are regenerating rainforest in this zone on a landscape-scale. Find out more:

If you live in the rainforest zone, look out for pearl bordered fritillaries, which are becoming rare elsewhere. A good one to record #ScotlandsRainforest

Woodland Trust: Estate Ranger - South Assynt Collaboration advertised with CJS Position: Full-time, permanent Salary: £30,670 Per Annum The Woodland Trust is looking for an Estate Ranger in our Scotland team to work closely with the Landscape Partnership Manager and colleagues…

The Woodland Trust is looking for an Estate Ranger for the South Assynt Collaboration Project. This initiative aims to create a thriving mosaic of native habitats that creates a healthier, more resilient home for wildlife and people.

A green coral lichen trailing down from a tree

A grey lichen with black fruiting bodies

Green lichens and mosses on a tree trunk

A mix of different lichens, mosses and liverworts of different colours on a tree branch

The sheer range of lichens that you'll find in #ScotlandsRainforest is a bit 🤯! Look closely, and you'll see different species all mixed up together with mosses and liverworts and filmy ferns and fungi and slime moulds...
📷 Gordon Willoughby, Jill Donnachie, Gus Routledge

Woodland Trust: Estate Ranger - South Assynt Collaboration advertised with CJS Position: Full-time, permanent Salary: £30,670 Per Annum The Woodland Trust is looking for an Estate Ranger in our Scotland team to work closely with the Landscape Partnership Manager and colleagues…

Estate Ranger - South Assynt Collaboration with Woodland Trust based in Northwest Scotland, full-time, permanent position c-js.uk/44yzynv

A room full of people gathered to discuss Scotland's rainforest

If you're a rainforest practitioner, tell Our Rainforest Futures what networking and learning opportunities you would be interested in: workshops, conferences, field trips? But hurry! Their survey closes tomorrow buff.ly/MopAn4M #ScotlandsRainforest
📷 Helen Pugh

Lost elms in Scotland's rainforest — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest Elm trees once covered great swathes of Europe and North America, but they’ve been ravaged by Dutch Elm Disease. This deadly fungal infection, spread by beetles, has now killed over 25 million trees…

Dutch elm disease has killed millions of elm trees around the globe, and most young people in the UK will never have seen one. But in #ScotlandsRainforest, there is hope. A small, resilient population of wych elms has survived - but for how much longer?

Fantastic to hear that the Gola Rainforest National Park in Sierra Leone has become a new UNESCO World Heritage site, the result of years of work by local communities, partners and government! whc.unesco.org/en/list/1746

Mosses and liverworts of Scotland's rainforest — Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest You’ll find mosses and liverworts growing in lots of different locations, even in big cities. But it’s in the rainforest that these plants really come into their own.

‘Bryophyte’ is the scientific term that’s often used collectively for three groups of plants: mosses, liverworts and hornworts. They’re our oldest land plants, and while they’re not closely related, they do have a lot in common. Find out more: buff.ly/pU1nij1 #ScotlandsRainforest

A single mature ash tree standing in a field showing significant dieback of the crown and some remnant green leaves. image credit: IFFF-BOKU/Thomas Kirisits

A mixed woodland set against a blue sky; in the foreground are 4 young ash trees all dead or dying form dieback. Credit Phil Lockwood/WTML

Please help us record ash dieback-tolerant trees in Scotland! It's estimated up to 75% of our ash trees will be gone in 20 years ☹️. Thankfully some show a natural tolerance to the disease. We need #Volunteers to find & record these valuable trees from July.🙏
Apply 👉 buff.ly/lPStk5Y
#Observatree