Grantee: Lochgoil Community Trust

Duration: 11 months (June 2026 – May 2027)

 

This project restores Temperate Rainforest through tackling invasive Rhododendron Ponticum in a local community woodland.

Background

Invasive non-native species (INNS) are one of the major threats facing Scotland’s rare and fragmented temperate rainforest. Rhododendron ponticum is the most significant of these. In the words of The Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest, rhododendron “has evergreen foliage and grows densely, shading out native tree species as well as rare bryophytes and lichens.”

The Project

Cormonochan Community Woodlands, located near to the village of Lochgoilhead in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, contains 64 hectares area of woodland, including several areas of rare temperate rainforest. The local community manages the woodland through year-round volunteer maintenance, and a network of paths have been developed to improve access.

In collaboration with Forestry Land Scotland, this project will initiate a rolling programme of rhododendron eradication. The initial focus will be on Cormonachan Woodlands, over time broadening out to other affected areas within the peninsula.

Several dedicated volunteers will receive training in rhododendron eradication, before a targeted effort of rhododendron eradication commences throughout the entire community woodland.

Simultaneously, the team will explore the potential of converting dead rhododendron into biochar, which could create a useful end product and further improve biodiversity.