The Living Rainforest is an indoor

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

located in

Hampstead Norreys Hampstead Norreys (alternatively spelt ''Hampstead Norris'' as it is pronounced) is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is centred on the small tributary the River Pang, north of Newbury. Amenities Hampstead Norreys was awarde ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is an ecological centre, educational centre and visitor attraction consisting of three glasshouses, operated and run by the Trust for Sustainable Living. The glasshouses are named Amazonica, Lowlands and Small Islands respectively. The Living Rainforest has been accredited by the Council for Learning Outside of the Classroom and awarded the LOtC Quality Badge. Each year around 25,000 children visit the Living Rainforest as part of their school's curriculum. It is open 7-days a week from 09:30 to 16:00.

History

The site was once an

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

nursery called Wyld Court Orchids who were well known for their collection of rare and beautiful natural orchid species, especially Cymbidiums and

Lycaste ''Lycaste'', abbreviated as Lyc. in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids that contains about 30 species with egg-shaped pseudobulbs and thin, plicate (pleated) leaves. Description ''Lycaste'' flowers, like all orchid blooms, have three ...

s. Wyld Court Orchids received considerable recognition from the R.H.S. including a distinction of Grand Champion Hybrid and Best in Show for a home-raised seedling at the British Orchid Council Congress Show. The privately owned ‘Wyld Court Rainforest’ was created in 1991 by philanthropist Keith Bromley (former chairman of the shoe retailer Russell and Bromley) and horticulturalist Barry Findon. Keith Bromley said he was inspired to create Wyld Court Rainforest after sailing in the Orinoco delta in Venezuela in the 1980s. It first opened to the public in April 1993 as a rainforest visitor centre. They donated the facility to the

World Land Trust The World Land Trust is a UK registered charity. It raises money to buy and then protect environmentally-threatened land in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. In 2018 it claimed to have raised more than £25 million and to have bought ...

in 1996. On 30 June 2000, ownership of Wyld Court Rainforest Ltd transferred from the World Land Trust to a new company "The Living Rainforest", and has been operated by Karl Hansen as an independent educational charity since July 2000. The centre is home to over 700 plants and animals including rare and endangered species of global conservation value.

Attractions

The visitor attraction consists of three glass houses that adjoin each other; the flora and fauna in each glass house are representative of different

layers Layer or layered may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Layers'' (Kungs album) * ''Layers'' (Les McCann album) * ''Layers'' (Royce da 5'9" album) *"Layers", the title track of Royce da 5'9"'s sixth studio album *Layer, a female Maveric ...

or areas of tropical rainforests. The rainforest layers represented in the Amazonica and Lowlands glasshouses include the canopy,

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

and

forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stage ...

layers. The Small Islands glasshouse exhibits shows life at the edge of an island rainforest, the exhibits in this glasshouse are being developed to highlight the issues and concerns faced by

Small Island Developing States Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a group of developing countries that are small island countries which tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, ...

(SIDS) throughout the world. The Human Impact Building opened in 2006 incorporating sustainable materials, Low Embodied Energy, passive/natural ventilation,

passive solar In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unli ...

gain and a small photovoltaic solar array. There is also a gift shop, cafe, outdoor adventure themed children’s playground and picnic area with a rainforest theme.

Exhibits

*Dwarf Caiman exhibit completed July 2020, it is home to two male Dwarf Caiman *Orchid Cloud Forest exhibit completed January 2020 featuring 100 orchid species and other plants from Central and South America *Littoral Zone project completed in October 2018 saw the introduction of plants in Small Islands often found at or just above the high water mark, these together with the mangroves exhibit represent the

Littoral Zone The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

*Bromeliads exhibit was introduced in August 2018, the concept of the exhibit is bromeliads growing on or around a fallen tree *Toucan exhibit was rebuilt in July 2018, it is home to a Channel-billed toucan (''Ramphastos vitellinus'') and a male Azara’s Agouti (''Dasyprocta azarae'') *Sustainable Futures exhibit was opened in January 2018, consists of interactive displays that include a look at Climate Drawdown *Snakes exhibit was rebuilt in February 2017, it is home to – two Emerald Tree Boas (''Corallus caninus''), a Green Tree Python (''Morelia viridis'') and a Carpet Python (''Morelia spilota'') *Small Islands exhibit was built in August 2016, it is home to a Green Iguana, mudskippers, various tropical fish and mangroves *Armadillo exhibit was built in 2014, it is home to a Six-banded armadillo (''Euphractus sexinctus'') *Goeldi's Monkeys exhibit was rebuilt and relocated in 2014, it is home to a troop of 5 Goeldi's monkeys (''Callimico goeldii)'' and a male Azara's Agouti (''Dasyprocta azarae'') *Fischer's Turacao exhibit was built in 2010 and is home to a pair of Fischer's Turacaos

Animals

* Asian Water Dragon *

Azara's agouti Azara's agouti (''Dasyprocta azarae'') is an agouti species from the family Dasyproctidae. Found in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, it is named after Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara Félix Manuel de Azara y Perera (18 May 1746 – 20 Octo ...

Blue poison dart frog The blue poison dart frog or blue poison arrow frog (''Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus"'') is a poison dart frog found in the forests surrounded by the Sipaliwini Savanna, which is located in southern Suriname (known in Surinamese Dutch and adja ...

Carpet Python ''Morelia spilota'', commonly referred to as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are ...

Channel-billed toucan The channel-billed toucan (''Ramphastos vitellinus'') is a near-passerine bird in the family Ramphastidae found on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and in tropical South America as far south as southern Brazil and central Bolivia. Taxonomy and ...

Dwarf Caiman Cuvier's dwarf caiman (''Paleosuchus palpebrosus'') is a small crocodilian in the Alligatoridae, alligator family from northern and central South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, P ...

* Emerald Tree Boa * Fischer's turaco *

Goeldi's Monkey The Goeldi's marmoset or Goeldi's monkey (''Callimico goeldii'') is a small, South American New World monkey that lives in the upper Amazon basin region of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. It is the only species classified in the genus ''Call ...

* Green Iguana *

Green Tree Python The green tree python (''Morelia viridis'') is a species of snake in the family Pythonidae. The species is native to New Guinea, some islands in Indonesia, and the Cape York Peninsula in Australia. First described by Hermann Schlegel in 1872, it ...

Home's hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise (''Kinixys homeana'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to Africa. Etymology The specific name, ''homeana'', is in honor of English surgeon and naturalist Everard Home. Geo ...

Linne's Two-toed Sloth Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (''Choloepus didactylus''), also known as the southern two-toed sloth, unau, or Linne's two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from South America, found in Venezuela, the Guyanas, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil north ...

Madagascar hissing cockroach The Madagascar hissing cockroach (''Gromphadorhina portentosa''), also known as the hissing cockroach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching at maturity. They are native to the island of Madagascar, which is off ...

* Philippines Water Monitor *

Pygmy marmoset Pygmy marmosets are two species of small New World monkeys in the genus ''Cebuella''. They are native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. These primates are notable for being the smallest monkeys in the world, at just ov ...

* Roul Roul Partridge * Six Banded Armadillo *

Yellow-knobbed curassow The yellow-knobbed curassow (''Crax daubentoni'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The yellow-knobbed curassow was formerly cla ...

Ocellate river stingray The ocellate river stingray (''Potamotrygon motoro''), also known as the peacock-eye stingray or black river stingray, is a species of freshwater stingray in the family Potamotrygonidae. It was the first species to be described in the family and ...

Plants

The Plant Collection at The Living Rainforest contains some of the most attractive species of the many tropical plant families such as bananas, bromeliads, calatheas, cinnamon, ficus, gingers, hoyas and orchids. However the highlights of the collection are the Aroids and the Philippine Jade Vine (seasonal). Plants of particular interest include; *'' Anthurium clavigerum'' *''

Anthurium crystallinum ''Anthurium crystallinum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to rainforest margins in Central and South America, from Panama to Peru. Growing to tall and broad, it is an epiphytic perennial, characterised by large, ve ...

'' *'' Anthurium magnificum'' *''

Austrocylindropuntia subulata ''Austrocylindropuntia subulata'' is a species of cactus native to the Peruvian Andes. The Latin specific epithet ''subulata'' means "awl-like", referring to the shape of the rudimentary leaves. It is also known by its common names as Eve's pin a ...

'' *Black Anthurium *

Breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

* Giant Fern *

Giant Taro ''Alocasia macrorrhizos'' is a species of flowering plant in the arum family (Araceae) that it is native to rainforests of Maritime Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland and has long been cultivated in South Asia, the Philippines, many Paci ...

*'' Hoya bhutanica'' *

Jade Vine ''Strongylodon macrobotrys'', commonly known as jade vine, emerald vine''The Royal Horticultural Society A–Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants'', ed. Christopher Brickell, Dorling Kindersley, London, 1996, , p987 or turquoise jade vine, is a specie ...

*'' Myriocarpa stipitata'' * King Anthurium *'' Philodendron melanochrysum'' *''Philodendron melinonii'' *

Pitcher Plants Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

Screw Pine ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common nam ...

Silk Floss Tree ''Ceiba speciosa'', the floss silk tree (formerly ''Chorisia speciosa''), is a species of deciduous tree that is native to the tropical and subtropical forests of South America. It has several local common names, such as ''palo borracho'' (in Sp ...

Travellers Palm ''Ravenala'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants. Classically, the genus was considered to include a single species, ''Ravenala madagascariensis'', commonly known as the traveller's tree, traveller's palm or East-West palm, from Mada ...

Typhonodorum lindleyanum ''Typhonodorum'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Araceae. The single species making up this genus is ''Typhonodorum lindleyanum''. The genus is native to Madagascar, the Comores, Zanzibar, Réunion and M ...

Cocoa tree ''Theobroma cacao'', also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. The largest pro ...

Gallery

File:AmazonicaTLR1.jpg, Amazonica Main Pond (North) File:AmazonicaTLR2.jpg, Amazonica Main Pond (East) File:Acalypha hispida TLR1.jpg, Acalypha hispida File:AnthuriumCrystallinumTSL1.jpg, Anthurium crystallinum File:20150224 083943 - Edited.jpg, Anthurium regale File:Alocasia calidora.jpg, Alocasia calidora File:Bromeliads.jpg, Bromeliad exhibit File:HomesHingeBackTSL1.jpg, Home's Hinge-Back Tortoise File:JadeVineTLR1.jpg, Jade Vine File:JadeVineTLR2.jpg, Jade Vine File:YellowKnobbedCurracowTLR1.jpg,

Yellow-knobbed Curassow The yellow-knobbed curassow (''Crax daubentoni'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The yellow-knobbed curassow was formerly cla ...

File:BlueMorphoTLR1.jpg, Blue Morpho File:EdgeofforestTLR.jpg, succulents in Small Islands

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Living Rainforest Tourist attractions in Berkshire Zoos in England Zoos established in 1993 Botanical gardens Parks and open spaces in Berkshire West Berkshire District 1993 establishments in England