A rewilding project reshapes East London
White storks will return to London after 600 years as part of a major rewilding project. The colony will settle in Eastbrookend Country Park in Dagenham from October next year. The site will become the second public location for white stork reintroduction in Britain. The birds vanished from Britain in the 1400s after habitat loss and hunting drove them to extinction.
Beavers follow the comeback of white storks
The project will also release beavers into the park in March 2027. Conservationists reintroduced beavers to the capital in 2023 at a nature reserve in Greenford, Ealing. The new releases aim to boost biodiversity across east London.
A major investment in nature recovery
The initiative received £500,000 from the mayor’s Green Roots Fund, Barking and Dagenham Council and the London Wildlife Trust. Sam Davenport, director of nature recovery at the trust, said he hoped the return of white storks and beavers would inspire an ambitious vision for nature recovery in the capital. Dominic Twomey, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said the London reintroduction builds on the successful breeding project in Sussex.
A greener and healthier future for London
The Green Roots Fund will invest £12m over the next three years in projects that make the city greener, healthier and more resilient to climate change. Sir Sadiq Khan said access to nature represents an issue of social justice. He said everyone deserves to enjoy wild creatures, no matter where they live. He added that this project marks only the beginning of the change London will see.
