Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Six Million Trees, One Laser From a Plane

From a light aircraft skimming over the Scottish Highlands, a laser quietly counted six million trees — and what it found beneath the canopy is quietly extraordinary. Cambridge researchers used LiDAR technology and AI to survey 569 square kilometres of Cairngorms National Park, discovering that more than 2.65 million of those trees are young, newly growing — forests reasserting themselves across land that has weathered wildfire, overuse, and the slow pressure of a changing climate. The Cairngorms is the UK’s largest national park, a place of ancient woodland, mountain ridgelines, and lochs that feel older than memory. At its heart is Cairngorms Connect, a partnership committed to a 200-year restoration vision — a timeframe that asks us to think in generations rather than news cycles. As one researcher put it, this method is “a breakthrough for monitoring nature restoration at a landscape scale.” What moves most is that small detail buried in the data: new trees are taking root more readily in dry ground than in wet, boggy soil — the land itself is teaching its restorers where it wants to go. There is something quietly hopeful about a map that doesn’t just show what is, but listens for what wants to become.

Be The Change

Find a map of a local nature reserve or rewilding project near you and read about its restoration timeline — then consider writing a short note of support or thanks to the organization behind it.