CAMPAIGNERS, families, school children and nature-lovers from across Cornwall gathered at woodlands near Truro on Thursday [July 10] to campaign for the restoration of England’s ancient forests.

Idless Woods is one of many throughout the UK to be the subject of an appeal to Forestry England (the agency responsible for managing publicly owned forests in England) to fulfil its commitment to restore the nation’s ‘ghost woods’ - ancient woodland sites felled and replaced by timber plantations.

Attendees took part in a ‘ghost hunt’, searching for fragments of native forest smothered beneath the monoculture plantation. Idless Woods dates back hundreds of years and was recorded in the Doomsday Book; it was planted with non-native tree species and is currently being restored by Forestry England.

The event was organised by Wild Card, a grassroots campaign group which has been backed by Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench; and Cornwall-based, youth-led restorative justice charity RJ Working.

Walkers and woodland-lovers were joined by a giant lemon slug puppet made by Lostwithiel artists The Lost Giants. The slug represented the missing and endangered ancient woodland species which rarely capture public attention.

Rosie Smart-Knight for Wild Card said: “Idless is a beautiful place to be on such a hot day. In the spring, so much of it is carpeted with bluebells. It was striking to see the difference when you walk into the conifer plantations - nothing grows underneath their canopy. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the whole wood could be filled with colour and life again?”

RJ Working youth worker Phil Green added: “It is so special to have a community of people who not only love Idless Woods, but also want to protect it. People of all ages came together to celebrate, learn and use their voices to advocate for positive change. This is just the beginning of our mission to rewild the ghost woods of Cornwall.”

The gathering was part of a series of actions taking place across the country. In 2022, DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) set a new national target to restore or start the restoration of the majority of ancient woodlands covered with plantations by 2030, following a missed initial target of 2020.

However, Wild Card estimates that at the current rate of progress, Forestry England won’t be able to deliver on this target until 2111. It has launched a petition with 38 Degrees, supported by Dame Judi Dench, urging Forestry England to make good on its commitment by accelerating the restoration of ancient woodland.

“Forestry England is responsible for over 100,000 acres that were once ancient, life-filled woodland,” said Dame Judi. “These were places of deep memory and wild beauty. But instead of letting nature return, much of the land has been smothered with fast-growing timber plantations.

“These places are now often uniform, silent, and sterile. In the process, we’ve lost so much of the rich biodiversity that once thrived there … If we don’t act soon, they’ll be lost forever. It’s time to let these forests live and breathe once more.”