Good news for fans of rodents and wading birds... and improved habitats.
Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced the reintroduction of white storks and beavers into east London. Both species were originally native to the London area, but were hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago.
Now, with £500,000 investment and help from the London Wildlife Trust, the gangly birds and charismatic rodents will be reintroduced to Eastbrookend Country Park in Dagenham. According to the Mayor's press office, "the project builds on the recent restoration and maintenance of wet meadows and pastures in the area, supported by the Mayor, to ensure they can flourish".
These will be London's first (wild) white storks, but not its first beavers. A colony was released into Paradise Fields in Greenford back in 2023. Beaver dams help to increase biodiversity and reduce flood risk in the area. But the animals also have an inspirational role, getting the local community all a-buzz about the wonders of nature. It's hoped the Eastbrookend beavers and storks will do the same for east London.
It's all part of the Mayor's Green Roots Fund, which will invest £12 million over three years into various projects that restore London's habitats. The current round of investment will also include fillips for a bluebell wood in Merton, various waterway improvements across London, a rainwater management project in Lambeth, and support for a 'kids and dads growing club' in that same borough. The full list can be viewed here.
But it's the animals that get all the headlines. Sam Davenport, Director of Nature Recovery at London Wildlife Trust said: "Reintroducing iconic flagship species like white storks and beavers helps us all to imagine an ambitious future for nature recovery in the capital. It will inspire communities to connect with nature and landowners to create more wetland habitats -- in turn benefiting other species.
"In this way, the reintroduction of white storks and beavers becomes a catalyst for wider ecological restoration, helping to build a greener, more resilient London for generations to come."