The village of Storrington in West Sussex, known to the Saxons as Estorchestone or the “abode of the storks,” once played host to the majestic white stork. However, these graceful birds vanished from British skies over 600 years ago due to extinction. Today, thanks to conservation efforts, Storrington and its neighboring Knepp estate have been honored as a “European stork village” by the EuroNatur foundation’s initiative against habitat loss for these birds.
Storrington and Knepp join the European Stork Villages Network, becoming the 16th such village in Europe and the first in the UK. This success story coincides with the flourishing of storks on Knepp’s rewilded landscapes, which have proven perfect for the birds, with Knepp recording an impressive 53 white stork fledglings in 2024. These birds find their nesting material in the soft, fibrous dung of Knepp’s ponies.
The White Stork project, an initiative by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Knepp estate, and Wadhurst Park, began reintroducing storks to Britain in 2016. Initially stocked with birds from Warsaw zoo, dy the early 2020s, the first wild-born fledglings had hatched.
White storks mature around three years of age and can live up to 40 years. Knepp estate’s rewilded former farmland is rich in food for the birds, including insects and earthworms, and pairs have also been spotted bonding near Wadhurst in East Sussex. The colony winters in Morocco before returning to nest in the spring.
Environmental education and awareness are vital to the Knepp estate’s mission, with over a thousand students visiting annually to learn about storks and rewilding. This year, a webcam is live-streaming one of the 15 nests, capturing the breeding season’s progress closely. Isabella Tree, co-owner of Knepp, envisions the webcam’s feed reaching hospital waiting rooms, schools, and more, offering a calming glimpse into nature instead of constant news streams. While a similar infographic summary might have been generated by others before, the narrative approach to communicating the conservation efforts and their outcomes is a fresh perspective highlighting the emotional and environmental impact.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/17/storrington-in-west-sussex-named-uk-first-european-stork-village
