In today’s blog, Nathan Berrie shines the spotlight on work that’s helping to restore Scotland’s precious rainforests by reducing deer grazing pressures.

Scotland might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of rainforests – but it should be. Along the rugged west coast lies one of our most overlooked natural treasures.

Known as Scotland’s Rainforest, these lush woodlands exist where conditions are just right – high rainfall, mild temperatures, and fresh Atlantic air. That combination creates the perfect environment for mosses, liverworts, and lichens to thrive, giving these forests their soft, green feel. Though less known than their tropical counterparts, they are just as important and globally rare.

Mosses, liverworts and lichens thrive in Scotland’s lush rainforest. © Lorne Gill.

But our rainforest is under pressure. Only around 30,000 hectares remain, and much of it is fragmented or struggling. Invasive species like rhododendron are a major threat, however, overgrazing, particularly from deer, is preventing regeneration of tree species and much of its critically important lower vegetation. In turn, this limits its potential to support rare and internationally important biodiversity.

That’s why the NatureScot Wildlife Management team are focused firmly on action – on the ground, across landscapes, and in partnership with the people who live and work here.

Working alongside Deer Management Groups (DMGs), the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest and other agencies, we are supporting a growing network of projects that are restoring, expanding, and reconnecting Scotland’s rainforest. This is backed by significant Scottish Government funding from the Rainforest Restoration Fund and Nature Restoration Fund, both managed by NatureScot.

We are helping the South Assynt Project and Glen Torridon with data collection and providing advice on reducing grazing pressure to allow woodlands to recover naturally. At Loch Arkaig and the Nevis Nature Network, we are working with multiple landowners – because deer populations do not recognise borders. This could potentially allow the existing woodland at Nevis to expand threefold through natural regeneration.

Counting deer by helicopter in Appin. © Nathan Berrie

In Sunart and Morven, we are combining traditional deer management with innovation. Thermal drone technology is helping us build a clearer picture of deer populations, while a recently completed deer cull incentive project has proved successful. Supported by the Rainforest Restoration Fund and self-administered by the Sunart project team, the scheme gave qualified and licensed stalkers payment for additional deer culled over and above the level currently controlled in the area.

New technology, like thermal drones, is improving deer data. © Louise Farmer

Further south, projects like Appin Rainforest Regeneration and Regenerating Craignish Rainforest are bringing people together. From setting up local deer forums to funding habitat assessments and supporting culls, we are helping communities take a leading role in shaping the future of their landscapes and creating local jobs through initiatives such as community larders.

Across West Cowal and Knapdale, we are supporting large-scale habitat restoration by bringing landowners together through new and established DMGs, improving infrastructure for venison processing, and strengthening long-term deer management by using regulation where necessary to ensure sustained progress. We are also working with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park on an incentivised cull across the area, through which stalkers receive a payment for increased culling.

Sharing knowledge at Arkaig Community Larder. © Nathan Berrie.

Each project is different, but our focus is always on supporting communities and land managers with the most effective approach to manage deer in a complex landscape. In doing so, we are seeking to move away from historic deer management – which centred on deer fencing – to managing deer numbers through culling where possible. Data is key to this approach with impact assessments and deer counting playing an important role in helping land managers understand the goal and scale of effort required.

A rare chequered skipper butterfly enjoys the rainforest sun in Appin.
© Nathan Berrie

This work matters. Our rainforest stores carbon and provides a home for species found nowhere else. But as importantly, it supports jobs, communities, and wellbeing across the west coast. With continued effort, partnership, and care, Scotland’s rainforest will thrive.

Nathan Berrie is a Wildlife Management Officer at NatureScot.

Further information

Projects being supported by the Scottish Government’s Rainforest Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot, include:

• Sunart Rainforest Project (Sunart Community Company)
• Nevis Nature Network – Rainforest Restoration Project (Nevis Landscape Partnership)
• Saving Argyll’s Rainforest – West Cowal Community Deer Larder (Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust)
• Appin Rainforest Regeneration Project (Appin Community Development Trust)
• Glen Torridon Partnership – Phase 1 (The Woodland Trust)
• South Assynt Collaboration Project – Phase 1 (The Woodland Trust)
• Regenerating Craignish Rainforest Habitats – Phase 1 (The Woodland Trust)
• Scoping out a new Fund for Scotland’s Rainforest (Plantlife Scotland, on behalf of the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest)
• Saving Morvern’s Rainforest (RSPB Scotland)
• Restoring Stuckindroin (Loch Lomond Rainforest) (RSPB Scotland, on behalf of Loch Lomond Rainforest)