An ambitious drone tree-seeding trial in the South West – one of the largest ever using native tree seeds – could revolutionise the expansion of rainforests.

In a project led by the Woodland Trust, high-tech drones weighing 110kg and carrying up to 58kg of seeds have scattered 75,000 seeds across the rolling hills around Bodmin.

The drones, which hover just a few metres above the ground, can reach areas inaccessible for human planting by hand. Working with the South West Rainforest Alliance, the Woodland Trust hopes the new seeding technique will help triple the area of temperate rainforest in Devon and Cornwall from 8% to 24% of land area by 2050.