Ben Porter/Cornwall Wildlife TrustCornwall Wildlife Trust is to begin restoring a temperate rainforest habitat near Looe after receiving donations of more than £67,000.
The trust said its 150-acre (60-hectare) site at Muchlarnick was “an ideal location” for the work due to its humid valleys and variety of “rare and important species”.
Funding was secured from Aviva earlier this year for a project spanning 50 years which will involve the planting of 30,000 trees, the trust said.
After a public appeal in 2024, the wildlife trust also received donations from members and supporters which came to a total of more than £67,000 for the rainforest project.
Vaughn Matthews/Cornwall Wildlife TrustTemperate rainforests are globally rare with just 1% of the world’s climate being suitable for them, the trust said.
It said they once covered about 20% of the British Isles but had been largely destroyed over hundreds of years and now covered less than 1% of Britain.
Organisers of the project said local communities and schools in south-east Cornwall would be closely involved in the rainforest restoration project and would benefit from increased access to nature, volunteering and educational opportunities.
Rainforest restoration would also provide cleaner air and water and reduced risk from flooding, they added.
Experts have so far recorded 19 species of lichen at the Muchlarnick site.
Alison Smith, temperate rainforest project manager at the trust, said she was “delighted” the project could now get started.
“It will provide vital habitat for wildlife in a time of nature crisis, store large amounts of carbon, and benefit local communities for generations to come,” she said.
“Restoring this incredible habitat will also allow adaptation to climate change, reduce threats from extreme heat, flood and drought, and enable local people to reap the benefits.
“These are exciting times.”