Until this deer fence went up less than 10 years ago, the land behind was no different from the foreground where the sheep are. There was no planting: all of the trees naturally self-seeded (1)

A view from the far side of the fence, within the newly formed wild multi-species forest. Visible here are birch, sally, oak, hazel and holly. If mature seeding trees are around, all it takes is to keep the grazers out, and nature gets on with it (2)

Given time, this is what that initially modest-looking scrub develops into: extremely rich temperate rainforest, habitat for a fantastic range of wild native animals and plants

... an intrinsic but now almost entirely lost part of Ireland's heritage. It wouldn't be difficult bring this back across much of our country, helping avert both ecological collapse and climate breakdown
#WorkingWithNature

@NativeWoodTrust @RewildingIre