We’re Bringing Back Iceland’s Forgotten Forests

We are helping reforest Iceland with our latest rewilding project! This is a special place to plant trees as they help fight against desertification and help with the much-needed habitat creation. ⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️ 0:00 Intro 0:46 Ecology of Iceland 5:25 Our project 8:31 Where we go from here 🧐 ABOUT THIS PROJECT =============================== In Autumn 2021, we joined forces with the Iceland Forest Service to restore the native birchwoods of Iceland. Iceland is known for is vast open landscapes shaped by massive volcanos and expansive glaciers, but these woodlands are a vital part of the landscape. They are the only woodland type to form in Iceland, and provide food and shelter for biodiversity, help to stabilise soil, provide windbreaks, and sequester carbon. At one point, it is thought that 25-40% of Iceland was covered in birchwoods. Now, it is a mere 1.5%. Our project aims to restore birchwoods to a degraded upland area on the west coast of Iceland by planting. While natural succession would likely convert this area to woodland eventually, it could take centuries or even millennia. To speed up this process, downy birch is being planted across the landscape, with some scattered rowan, aspen, and tea-leaved willow to add diversity.