The Millennium Forest Project. When the Island was first colonised, there were reports of a large expanse of forest called the Great Wood, home to an unknown number of birds, insects and plants that are now extinct. The Great Wood was entirely destroyed as settlers cut down the trees for firewood, used the bark for tanning, and allowed introduced mammals such as goats to graze on the saplings. The site of the Great Wood became semi-desert. The Millennium Forest Project was launched in 2000 with tremendous energy from the Island community, in a bid to reforest some of the area previously occupied by the Great Wood.