Our Story

In 2020, Jim Mann and Jade Rein co-founded The Future Forest Company with the aim of restoring nature and combating climate change. Their motivation stemmed from the realisation that our planet was in crisis and action needed to be taken. In Jim’s words, ‘Our planet is in crisis,
and we simply had to do something.’

By July of that year, they had acquired the picturesque Glenaros Estate on the Isle of Mull. Over the next two years, their efforts expanded as the Future Forest Company acquired additional properties across Scotland and Northern England to restore and reforest.

Our dedicated team of experts has been actively working on these sites, restoring peatlands, planting trees and wildflower meadows, and protecting the habitats of endangered species. In 2023, our team reached the significant milestone of planting one million trees, thanks to the support of our corporate tree planting partners and individual sponsors. This brief overview highlights the key milestones in the Future Forest Company journey, from land management to the preservation of rare lichen, from receiving prestigious awards to successfully bringing species back from the brink of extinction.

Meet the Team

The Future Forest Journey

A brief history of our story so far. An overview of milestones from land management to rare lichen, prestigious awards to returning species back from the brink of extinction.

September 2025

Giving back to Menstrie: the Tom Mack Walk opens

Prize money from Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards is reinvested locally to help create the Tom Mack Walk in Menstrie Community Woodland, celebrating a local champion and improving access to nature on the edge of our Dumyat site, a practical example of community benefit flowing from awards.

June 2025

From lichens to waders: landscapes jam-packed with life

Across Glenaros, Brawlbin and Brodoclea, our surveys now record hundreds of plant species, dozens of breeding birds, and specialist species like rare lichens, breeding waders, and the great yellow bumblebee. From Atlantic hazel rainforest on Mull to Caithness wetlands and Ayrshire agroforestry, our projects are increasingly recognised as living, working examples of how private finance can restore complex ecosystems at scale

April 2025

The Future Forest Company becomes a Certified B Corp

We complete a multi-year journey to become a Certified B Corporation, formally joining a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. It’s a third-party stamp that our restoration, carbon and community claims stand up to scrutiny.

April 2025

Wildflower meadows and wetland corridors at Carston

On the ground at Carston, over 17,000 m² of land is beginning the transformation into wildflower meadows, and 1.2 km of wet ditch and burn are being restored as wildlife corridors, turning degraded farmland into a mosaic for pollinators, wetland birds, and aquatic life.

November 2024

Carston named Climate Change Champion

Our Carston site in Ayrshire wins the Climate Change Champion Trophy at Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards. Judges highlight the way the woodland design balances carbon sequestration, climate resilience and community access, using a diverse species mix to cope with future droughts, storms and pests.

September 2024

Brodoclea wins national agroforestry award

The Woolly Pig Company at our Brodoclea Woodland Farm wins the Best Agroforestry Award 2024 at the Scottish Agricultural Awards, recognising an integrated woodland–livestock system that combines rare Mangalitsa pigs, diverse woodland and productive farming as one coherent, regenerative land use.

June 2024

Birdlife booms at Brodoclea and Brawlbin

Monitoring at Brodoclea picks up a growing list of species, including whinchat, lesser redpoll, wood warbler, dippers on the burns, sedge warblers in scrub and regular raptors overhead. At Brawlbin, breeding waders - curlew, lapwing, redshank, snipe and oystercatcher - take centre stage alongside the great yellow bumblebee, one of the UK’s rarest bees. 

June 2024

ANOTHER HUGE MILESTONE!

We’ve now planted 1,599,330 trees across our UK sites - the living foundation of the climate-resilient forests of tomorrow.

May 2024

We were delighted to find that great crested newts were confirmed in one of our new ponds at Mill of Plunton

Great crested newts are our biggest, rarest and most protected newt in Scotland, so we were delighted that they bred in one of our two new ponds at Mill of Plunton. Our dedicated team have restored ten ponds and successfully created two brand new ponds, creating a haven for the European protected species.

May 2024

Planting complete at Glenaros on the Isle of Mull

309,645 predominantly native broadleaf trees are now in the ground on one of our flagship sites, Glenaros. The operation over winter and into early Spring was carefully planned, and the trees planted by our experienced contractors by hand! No mean feat!

April 2024

Planting complete at Carston in Ayrshire

138,00 mixed broadleaves have now been planted at Carston, and we look forward to this becoming a woodland that the local community can enjoy.

April 2024

Sticky catchfly, one of the UK’s rarest plants, is now thriving at Dumyat.

A major 2024 survey, run with NatureScot, BSBI, TCV, NTS and University of Edinburgh, found the population has bounced back dramatically. Only around 10% of plants now show browse damage, a huge shift from earlier surveys. BBC: Numbers of rare sticky plant treble in Ochil Hills

March 2024

Highland and Dexter cattle step fully into their role as part of the ‘restoration team that doesn’t need a desk’.

Mob grazing trials show how hoof action, manure and short, intense grazing windows can turn rank grass into mosaic habitat for wildflowers, insects, and ground-nesting birds. It becomes one of our most-loved stories with partners.

December 2023

1 MILLION TREES PLANTED!

2023 was our busiest planting season to date - resulting in one million trees in the ground!

November 2023

10,000 Wildflowers planted

Together with volunteers, our dedicated team planted an incredible 10,000 wildflowers at Leadloch, Dumyat, Carston and Pleasantfield.

October 2023

The Conservation Volunteers Training Course at Dumyat

As part of our ongoing partnership with TCV we hosted a two-day training course led by our Head of Ecology, Lindsay Mackinlay

September 2023

Extinct butterfly makes remarkable return after 100 year absence at Dumyat!

After a 100-year absence evidence of the Northern Brown Argus butterfly breeding was recently recorded at our Dumyat site in Stirlingshire by local Butterfly Conservation members and our team.

August 2023

35 different plant species and 78 wildflowers recorded at Brodoclea!

112l different plant species, including 78 wildflower species..recorded in plant survey over one day at Brodoclea.

August 2023

Landworker’s Alliance at Brodoclea

With around 25 enthusiastic foresters and farmers, award-winning Site Assistant David Carruth gave a tour and explained our approach to long-term land management.

August 2023

Carbon PIU's Validated!

Our projects put nature first, and provide validated UK Woodland and Peatland Carbon Code units, which are traceable, authentic and legally recognised. The sale of carbon units enables us to reinvest in our business, facilitating further growth and the restoration of additional habitats.

July 2023

Uniting MPs for Scotland’s Climate Week

We welcomed Councillor Jim Thomson and Alyn Smith MP to our award-winning Dumyat site, in an effort to unite stakeholders, partners, supporters, and key influencers in the fight against climate change.

February 2023

Scottish Government Natural Capital public sector partnership

Our team met with economic and environmental leads from across Scottish Government and the wider public sector including NatureScot, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Hutton Institute to discuss natural capital.

February 2023

Peatland restoration project completed at Glenaros!

30ha of blanket bog restored at Glenaros! Thousands of metres of ditches were blocked to control water flow, create a habitat for wildlife, and store carbon for future generations, thanks to Peatland ACTION & Peatland Code. This project aims to reduce 3213t CO2e emissions over a span of 100 years.

February 2023

Peatland restoration project completed at Swarthghyll!

57.9ha of peatland restored taking our team around 15 months in total. Surveying began in December 2021, followed by planning, funding application and peatland code validation. Across a project term of 100 years, a reduction of 9499 tCO2e will be made.

December 2022

David Carruth won The Farm Woodland Young People’s Award!

At the Scotland's Finest Woods Awards 2023, David Carruth was honored with The Farm Woodland Young People's Award for his exceptional contributions at Brodoclea. His efforts were acknowledged as exemplary in terms of woodland and agricultural practices, benefiting both farming and woodland management.

December 2022

Dumyat wins Climate Change Champion Award at Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards!

Jamie Adcock, Senior Forestry Manager, accepted the Climate Change Champion Award at The Royal Highland Show, saying, “This accolade is testament to the vision, planning and execution of the work we are undertaking at Dumyat. We are delighted that this site has been recognised by Scotland’s Finest Woods for our efforts in sharing our knowledge and experience about climate change.”

November 2022

Rare Lichens of International Concern Identified at Glenaros

Lichenologists Andy Acton and Brian Coppins identified 125 lichen and associated species, 66 notable lichens, 52 of which are categorised as being species for which Britain has International Responsibility identified in their report titled, The Lichens of Atlantic Hazel at Glenaros Mull in 2022.

March 2022

Bat Surveys at Glenaros

Ecologist Lindsay Mackinlay and a team of volunteers found that Glenaros supported at least three species of bat, including Soprano pipistrelle, Common pipistrelle and the odd Brown long-eared bat. Discovering at least 10 bat roosts across five buildings and within nearby mature trees.

January 2022

Carston Farm acquired!

Carston is a 66 ha farm in the heart of the Ayrshire countryside. We aim to transform the land into a vibrant woodland which merges into wildlife-rich small wetlands and wildflower meadows, and which will become a valued place for informal recreation for the local community.

January 2022

Brawlbin Farm acquired!

Brawlbin Farm is located in a scenic and rugged part of Caithness on the southern shores of Loch Calder and on the northern edge of the Flow Country. The land offers tremendous opportunity to develop the natural capital potential through woodland planting, peatland restoration, managing the wetlands for bird habitat and regenerative agriculture.

February 2021

Swarthghyll Estate acquired!

291ha Swarthghyll Estate in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park acquired.

May 2021

Dumyat Estate acquired!

480ha iconic Dumyat hillside site acquired, which will eventually become a rich, diverse woodland, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and teaming with wildlife.

September 2021

Leadloch acquired!

Leadloch 155ha site in the Central Belt of Scotland acquired.

September 2021

Pleasantfield acquired!

35ha site acquired, we will turn the land back into a thriving woodland habitat.

November 2020

Brodoclea Woodland Farm acquired!

174ha Brodoclea Woodland Farm acquired, now home to our woolly pigs; our ecological restoration engineers.

November 2020

Brisbane Mains acquired!

144ha site at Brisbane Mains acquired for reforestation and biodiversity restoration.

July 2020

Glenaros Estate acquired!

809ha Glenaros Estate acquired on the east coast of Mull in Scotland.

January 2020

The Future Forest Company Founded

Founded by Jim Mann and Jade Rein, the Future Forest Company was born with the aim to deliver large scale carbon removal reforestation projects in the UK to fight against climate change.

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