A Highland estate house is to be transformed into the Scottish Rainforest Centre to help save the threatened internationally-important habitat.
Renowned environmental lawyer and activist Kathryn Rae has launched a new charity to buy Couldoran House in Wester Ross.
It is currently owned by Woodland Trust Scotland (WTS) which bought the Couldoran Estate in 2021 after an £8 million appeal.
No date has been set for the centre opening, but it will work with the trust in future.
WTS will continue to conserve and expand the woodland in the wider area, while the centre will focus on education and hosting visiting researchers.
A base for students, academics and volunteers
Australian-born Ms Rae has knowledge of both temperate rainforests in Scotland and tropical rainforests in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica.
She said: “Plans are still being developed. However we aim to provide an ideal venue for events, workshops and meetings.”
She said accommodation will be available for volunteers, students and academics, including scientists working in the rainforest zone.
It is also proposed that local schoolchildren visit regularly and children from cities stay to explore the rainforest and learn about conservation.
In addition, the centre will be available to the community for non-woodland events.
She added: “As a long-time supporter and life member of the Woodland Trust, I was very excited by their rainforest conservation plans out on the estate.
“But when I saw the house I could see there was another job to be done; an interesting opportunity to support rainforest conservation.
“People have been waking up to the fact that Scotland has its own temperate rainforest along the west coast, and that action is needed to stop it disappearing.
“It seems to me that this emerging movement needs a physical hub and Couldoran House fits the bill.”
Donations and grants will develop Couldoran House
The new charity has raised funds from a number of private donors to acquire Couldoran House.
It will seek further donations and grants to develop the concept and upgrade the building.
WTS bought Ben Shieldaig in 2019 with the help of its members and supporters, and players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
It acquired the neighbouring Couldoran Estate in 2021.
Estate manager Malcolm Turner, of Woodland Trust Scotland, said: “Kathryn is an inspiring woman with a huge amount of experience.
“She is the ideal person to drive forward plans for the house to make a huge difference both locally and nationally.
“We bought Couldoran Estate because it has great potential for woodland creation.
Scottish rainforest is ‘in trouble’
“We can get on with that while the Scottish Rainforest Centre does a complimentary job educating. It is a marvellous fit.”
According to the Alliance of Scotland’s Rainforest, the habitat is “in trouble”, with just 74,131 acres of rainforest remaining.
That is 2% of Scotland’s woodland cover and only one fifth of the area that has climatic conditions suitable for rainforest.
Ahead of COP26, a range of bodies including the trust, urged ministers to set up a rainforest restoration fund to protect, restore and expand the world-renowned habitat.
A major report estimated about £500 million is needed, and sought a commitment of £250 million over ten years.
Mr Turner said: “Scotland’s rainforest is one of our most precious habitats. It is as important as tropical rainforest, but even rarer.
“It is made up of the native woodlands found on our west coast in the ‘hyper-oceanic’ zone.
“High levels of rainfall and relatively mild, year-round temperatures provide just the right conditions for some of the world’s rarest bryophytes and lichens to form a lush green understory beneath the canopy.”
He said the trust is looking to hand over some other parts of the estate, potentially for affordable housing.
“We are in discussions with the Communities Housing Trust to see what might be feasible.
“We recognise the need for community access to affordable land, access to affordable housing and empowerment of local communities to shape their own destinies.”
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