Since 2024, a growing community of volunteers has been recording species across West Cowal on the platform iNaturalist, helping to build a clearer picture of the area’s temperate rainforest and the wildlife it supports. From glow-worms and slime moulds to rare lichens and fungi, these observations are beginning to reveal the richness of a landscape that has seen little detailed recording since the 1970s.

The work forms part of the West Cowal Habitat Regeneration Project, led by ACT. West Cowal is one of the landscape scale focus areas identified by the  Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest (ASR), a partnership of  25 organisations working across the west coast to protect, expand and reconnect Scotland’s rainforest. 

Gabura fascicularis photo by Ben Mitchell

This project is helping to build a stronger understanding of what remains, what is at risk, and where regeneration efforts can be focused over the coming years.

In this iNaturalist journal post, ACT’s Rainforest Manager Ian Dow reflects on what has been recorded so far, the history behind the project, and the role that community and citizen science are playing in revealing the hidden biodiversity of West Cowal’s rainforest.

Read the iNaturalist journal

Main Banner Didymium squamulosum photo by Ben Mitchell