On a cold and sunny February weekend in Glen Nevis, the Scottish Rainforest Education Centre was delighted to kick off its 2025 calendar of events with a well-attended ‘Discover the Scottish Rainforest’ workshop. Delivered in partnership with John Muir, we delivered this event as part of the Fort William Mountain Festival 2025 programme. Our goal was to highlight the fact that temperate rainforest can be found on the doorstep of communities in the Lochaber region, while getting a hands-on look at the lichens and bryophytes that make this environment so special.
The session was delivered by SREC’s Community Engagement Officer, Sophie Zych-Watson, and John Muir’s Landscape Manager Ali Austen. We are delighted to share that the workshop was fully booked and well received:
‘Our children very much enjoyed this event, and we all learnt something new!’
‘It’s a wonderful event for families!’
Species ID
A focus of the session was introducing children to the huge ranges of moss that can be found in Glen Nevis. We got out the hand lenses and magnifying glasses and sent the team out to find as many different mosses as they could – we found as many as five different species on a single boulder.
We also introduced the amazing idea that lichens are actually made of two beings – fungi and algae!
Nature Connectivity
Our workshop also focussed on using grounding techniques and all five senses to deepen our connection with nature. We focussed on using all five senses to hear, touch, taste, smell and see what it feels like to be in a rainforest – hearing the sound of water moving past us, the fresh air on our faces, the feeling of the moss beneath our hands and the taste of rain on our lips. We invited participants to do this exercise whenever they find themselves in a new forest environment in order to immerse themselves in ecological communities.
We also asked participants to ‘meet a tree’ and take turns getting to know different trees with blindfolds through feel and touch, before being challenged to find the tree again once the blindfold had been taken off. It is amazing how much information we get from feeling the trunk of a tree – almost everyone was able to re-find their tree by using the unique shape and feel of each trunk and all the lichens and moss unique to each tree!
Scottish Folklore and Art
Finally, we told the story of the Ghillie Dhu, a Scottish faerie who lives in and protects native woodlands. Those attending the workshop got the chance to make their own ‘Ghillie Dhu’ and leave behind their own creatures made of clay to protect the woodland or take them home to look over their gardens or local forests.
Interested?
Would your community group or organisation be interested in an event like this? Please email us at hello@scottishrainforestcentre.org.uk
We are running a calendar of events throughout 2025 on temperate rainforest education. These will be a mixture of treeplanting, art and music events, and outdoor workshops. Please keep an eye on our website or subscribe to the Our Rainforest Futures page on Facebook for project updates.