REFOREST CORNWALL AFTER STORM GORETTI

Aim

We are raising urgent funds to help Plant One CIC reforest Cornwall after thousands of trees came down caused by Storm Goretti.

Cornwall has already lost more woodland than any other UK county, and this storm has dealt a new devastating blow to our biodiversity, landscapes and climate resilience. Raising funds for the charity Plant One CIC, means they can work to restore these lost habitats and plant new woodland across Cornwall. Together we can regrow what was lost.

What happened in Storm Goretti?

A rare northerly storm brought winds over 100mph, causing widespread devastation across Cornwall. Thousands of trees were uprooted causing devastation to not only woodlands and wildlife but also local communities.

 Gulval Church

Why does Cornwall need reforestation so urgently?

Cornwall already has the lowest woodland cover in the UK (8%). The loss of so many trees has exposed the county to increased flooding, wind damage, biodiversity loss and climate vulnerability.

Where will my donation go?

All funds raised support Plant One CIC’s reforestation work in Cornwall, a charity working on tree planting, habitat restoration, site preparation, fencing, aftercare and long-term woodland recovery.

The funds we raise now will pay for a Reforestation Weekend Event on the 28th February (Location TBC) to plant new woodland with Plant One CIC — a community effort to begin healing Cornwall’s landscape and wildlife. All donations help to rebuild Cornwall's biodiversity and the future of our forests for our children depend on how we act now.

"Storm Goretti was an unprecedented extreme weather event, with an obscure wind direction from the North and with winds exceeding 100mph, trees didn't stand a chance.

Cornwall is already the most heavily deforested county in the UK with a mere 8% woodland cover, compared to a UK average of 13% and Europe average of 30-40%. Wide scale loss of mature trees is devastating for Cornwall. The effect on crucial woodland habitat will be shocking. One mature Oak tree is an essential food web and can support over 2,300 different species, including birds, bats, insects, fungi, and plants - and all across Cornwall we have lost 1000s of these mature biodiversity havens, and that's just the Oak trees. 

The storm ripped apart woodlands, devastated heritage gardens, pulled down important amenity trees and smashed domestic mature trees. Our landscape will be changed for the next century. But from the storm comes a chance to grow and reforest. We need more trees now more than ever. With extreme weather events set to become a regular occurrence, trees are our first line of defence. The biogenic shield they create stabilises the climate, they disrupt wind speeds helping to protect crops and critical infrastructure. With trees down across power lines, roads and homes it would be easy to think trees are part of the problem, however a storm hitting the UK without the trees to disrupt the wind pattern would be devastating to buildings and infrastructure. 

Trees and woodland help prevent floods by holding water on the land and slowing the flow of our rivers and streams and in doing so help to reduce drought across important agricultural land and the woodland habitats of individual trees, hedge rows and woodlands are essential to our native wildlife. In short, trees are the answer and we have just been dealt a serious blow to our crucial canopy cover. 

Help us to reforest Cornwall." - Carl Rowlinson, Co Founder of Plant One CIC

- Here is a film Plant One CIC made about the importance of trees:

Who is Plant One? 

Plant One is a community interest company.

Plant One is making giant strides to reforest the South West. Alongside planting and reforestation of new woodland habitats, they are restoring the endangered Celtic rainforest in the South West. Our hyper-oceanic region is the best place to grow this rare habitat which is crucial in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.

Founded in 2021, Plant One CIC has created 242,000 sqm of new woodlands and are on track to meet our 25 year target of 3 million. Our approach focuses on long-term nature recovery, not just planting trees or sequestering carbon. And it’s working – we are seeing tree survival rates at 86% (well above the 56% industry average), and additional species and natural regeneration already returning alongside our planting.

The beautiful future of Cornwall is dependant on our woodland and wildlife. Together we can plant the seeds now to protect this precious landscape we all treasure so dearly. With our love we can heal this together and restore what was lost.

This project successfully funded on 2nd March 2026