LookWild: Breathing Life into the Celtic Rainforest
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Date posted: 23/04/2025
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Time to read: 3 mins
Tucked deep within the valley of Cwm Gwaun lies one of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s quiet wonders – a surviving fragment of Celtic rainforest, where clean air surrounds the dense canopy and the trees drip with moss and mystery.
It’s here that a rare and striking lichen – tree lungwort – is being carefully reintroduced, in a bid to restore what was almost lost.
Once common in ancient woodlands, lichens like tree lungwort have become increasingly rare – vanishing silently as traditional land practices changed and air quality declined. Their retreat marked the slow unravelling of a delicate ecological web, where even the smallest losses leave lasting echoes.
The Lungs of the Rainforest
Lichens thrive in clean, humid air – clinging to old trees, absorbing rain, and creating microhabitats for woodland insects and mosses. But they depend on balance: the right light, moisture, and bark, all undisturbed by modern pressures.
One of the rarest is tree lungwort Lobaria pulmonaria, a lichen so iconic it’s often described as the lungs of the rainforest. Its leafy green fronds are surprisingly beautiful, resembling little underwater plants more than crusty tree growth.
A Lost Fragment Found
In 2007, only five trees across the entire Cwm Gwaun area were found to host tree lungwort. Then, in 2017, a chance encounter sparked something special.
After a storm swept through the Sychpant picnic site, a Park Authority Conservation Officer spotted a fallen fragment of tree lungwort on the forest floor. Knowing it wouldn’t survive long where it lay, they acted with quick instinct and quiet ingenuity – using netting from a discarded fruit bag to secure it to the trunk of a nearby ash.
It worked. Today, that fragment still thrives – and it’s inspired something bigger. As part of the Cysylltu Natur 25×25 project, the Park Authority is now working with a specialist lichenologist to give tree lungwort a fighting chance.
New Hope Takes Hold
In a recent transplanting mission, 46 wind-blown fragments of the lichen were attached to 20 trees across three carefully chosen sites in Cwm Gwaun.
Each tree was carefully chosen through detailed surveys, pinpointing the clean air, companion lichens, and stable bark needed for the transplants to thrive. In addition, every site was mapped and labelled, allowing volunteers to track the lichens as they take hold.
This is slow work,” says Mary Chadwick, Conservation Officer for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. “But it’s also hopeful. Tree lungwort is a stunning lichen that embodies the essence of the Atlantic rainforest. We’re helping it find its way back.
The project is funded through the Nature Networks Programme and delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of the Welsh Government. While the work may be quiet and careful, the impact may be profound.
If the fragments take hold – and conditions continue to improve – Cwm Gwaun could once again become a sanctuary for lichens lost to time. And it all began with a single storm-blown scrap, a fruit bag, and one Conservation Officer’s quick thinking.
Sometimes, nature’s biggest comebacks begin with the smallest signs of hope.
Could spending more time among trees be good for us?🌳
Research into forests suggests natural compounds called phytoncides could promote a sense of wellbeing and that time spent in woodlands can help decrease feelings of stress and anxiety.
Forest bathing is the practice of immersing ourselves in nature. Not to get steps in. Not to reach anywhere. Just to feel, be still and be present.
And our National Parks can certainly help. From pine forests and wooded valleys to ancient trees. Our parks are helping people to slow down and reconnect with the natural world every day.
Have you ever tried forest bathing? Tell us below👇
1. Stanmer Woods - @southdownsnp
2. Whinlatter Forest - @lakedistrictnpa
3. Pucks Glen - @lomondtrossachs
4. Cairngorms National Park @cairngormsnationalpark
5. North York Moors National Park @northyorkmoors
#Mindfulness #ForestBathing #Wellbeing #NationalParks
Has the rain reached you yet? 🌧️
A change in the weather is making its way across our National Parks. And with it comes a different rhythm to the landscape - changing how our surroundings look, sound and feel.
The sound of rain. The smell of wet earth. The air feeling fresher. Wildlife finding shelter.
What do you notice most when the rain arrives?
#RainyDay #BritishWeather #NationalParksUK
They may look like windmills, but in The Broads National Park, they are actually windpumps.
Rather than grinding flour, they were built to pump water from the marshes, helping to drain the land for agriculture and grazing.
Today, these distinctive structures are part of what makes the Broads landscape so recognisable.
And while this is a story from the Broads, it’s one that can be found across all 15 of our National Parks - landscapes shaped by people finding ways to adapt to live and work within their landscape. Something which still remains the case today.
Did you know that one of these mills is said to be haunted? Comment down below which one you think it is 👇
In photograph order:
📍1. St Benets Mill
📍2. Horsey Mill
📍3. Turf Fen Mill
📍4. Thurne Mill
📍5. Bograve Mill
#NorfolkBroads #NationalPark #Windpumps
✨🌙 Look up!
With a partial solar eclipse taking place tonight across the UK, we’re reminded about how important it is for our dark skies to be protected. Our National Parks are home to some of the best places in the UK to enjoy them, due to low levels of light pollution.
These incredible photos capture another recent celestial phenomenon that has been on display for stargazers and is peaking tonight - the Perseid meteor shower.
The sightings were captured in @northyorkmoors - home to one of the UK’s largest areas of protected dark sky.
🌟Tag us in your eclipse photos across our National Parks. Just be sure to follow safe viewing and photography guidance while you snap!
📷 1. Perseid meteor shower at Skelton Tower by Richard Horsman.
📷 2. Milky Way and Perseid meteor shower at Sutton Bank by Russ Norman.
📍North York Moors National Park #DarkSkies #SolarEclipse #Perseid #MeteorShower
Just goats being goats. 🐐
These incredible animals call the Valley of Rocks in @exmoornp home - scaling walls and cliffs, grazing on the rich meadows and, occasionally, blocking the roads!
They’re a wonderful reminder of why our National Parks are so important, providing a home for such a diverse range of wildlife.
Have you ever spotted one?
📷 Exmoor National Park
#ValleyOfRocks #Exmoor #Goats #NationalPark
Look out for us at the cinema. 🎬🌳
Our latest Wild Spaces episode, screening before selected films, takes you to Northumberland National Park. Their team, alongside farmers, landowners and volunteers, is working together to create healthier, more resilient landscapes through woodland creation and hedgerow planting.
It’s a story of partnership, long-term thinking, and the small actions that can have a lasting impact.
Find out more about the project and watch the episode via the link in our bio. 🔗
@northumberlandnationalpark
#WildSpaces #Northumberland #TreePlanting
💭You might have heard of peatland, but what exactly is it and why does it matter so much?
Peatlands are our natural climate allies. They store vast amounts of carbon, support rare wildlife, improve water quality, reduce flood risk and preserve thousands of years of archaeological and cultural history.
Some of the UK`s most important peatlands are found within our National Parks, making them critical places for tackling the climate and nature crises.
Across the UK`s National Parks, peatland restoration projects are helping damaged peatlands recover, benefiting both nature and people.
📍Dartmoor National Park
#NationalParks #Peatlands #NatureRecovery
Our National Parks tell the stories of the people and places that came before us.
A new Joint Statement on the Historic Environment in the National Parks of England, Scotland and Wales has launched.
Bringing together the 15 National Parks and heritage partners, the statement sets out a shared commitment to protecting the historic places and features that help shape our landscapes.
From ancient monuments and archaeological sites to historic buildings and traces of past generations, our National Parks are home to thousands of years of history.
Together, we’re working to care for these special places so their stories can continue to be discovered, valued and enjoyed for generations to come.
Read the full statement via the link in our bio 🔗
#NationalParks #UKHistory #Heritage
