Earlier this year, Lee Abbey Christian Community planted approximately 1,100 native trees on its property in an effort to help further restore the original Atlantic woodland that once covered the site. 

In the 1950s, non-native conifers were planted at Lee Abbey for commercial forestry, but with those trees coming to the end of their lifespan, a group from Lee Abbey partnered with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and the Woodland Grant Scheme to reforest a section of its 280-acre property. The property – two-thirds of which is woodland and some of which is classified as Atlantic rainforest – is situated along the North Devon coast.  

Along the 1.8 hectare hillside where the conifers had been, the Lee Abbey team planted half the area with native trees, including oaks, rowan, birch, alder, hawthorn and crab apple; it is leaving the other half undisturbed to see how it naturally regenerates before planting more native trees in 2025.

A significant section of the area in question is part of the Atlantic rainforest – native woodland which runs from Lee Abbey and Exmoor National Park down to Cornwall. Atlantic rainforest is important for many reasons, including maintaining the unique climate of the area. In his Wainwright Prize-winning book, The Lost Rainforests of Britain, author Guy Shrubsole summarises the benefits of these forests:

‘Britain’s rainforests, in short, are truly the pinnacle of our country’s woodlands. Not only are they extraordinary places to experience, providing a feast for the senses. They’re also a treasure-trove of biodiversity, home to globally significant populations of rare species of lichens and mosses, birds and mammals. And the carbon that our rainforest trees are busily soaking up – not just in their trunks, but also by the epiphytic plants that festoon their branches – make them some of our best allies in the fight against the climate crisis.’

Corinne de Klerk, Ecological Officer at Lee Abbey, said, ‘One of the values of Lee Abbey is simplicity, and within that, taking care of creation. It is awe-inspiring, the estate that we have. The estate and farm are an integral part of the mission of Lee Abbey. Being in an area with Atlantic rainforest, how amazing is that? The fact that it is significant for the climate in southwest England, and that we are part of that, of maintaining that, of regenerating that, (is amazing).’