Nature shows its power as Holy Loch recovers from nuclear submarine base days and rainforest returns
A landfill site near Dunoon is turning into a temperate rainforest while sea grass is said to be flourishing in Holy Loch
Sometimes nature can seem decidedly fragile, given how often we read about one species or another being threatened with extinction.
However, the remarkable transformation of an industrial landfill site not far from Dunoon and also the waters of the nearby Holy Loch, once home to a US nuclear submarine base, underlines just how resilient the natural world can be.
The landfill site is gradually turning into an especially important habitat, a temperate rainforest, with self-regenerated native trees and shrubs, “a rich carpet of flowering plants and mosses”, and rare lichens. Meanwhile in the loch, which was badly damaged by dredging and chemical contamination until the submarine base closed in 1992, “underwater forests” of seagrass are now said to be flourishing.
Dr Neil Hammatt, who has been studying the site, said the “findings prove that post-industrial landscapes can have immense ecological value. The coexistence of these rare lichens and ancient woodland plants confirms that this is a developing temperate rainforest.”
Sometimes, conservation projects can seem like trying to hold back the tide. But, in reality, nature, and indeed life, only needs half a chance.
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