It has taken nearly ten years for the network to grow again, but now the European Stork Villages initiative has another new member: The Knepp Estate and the village of Storrington in England have been honoured by EuroNatur for their merits in the successful reintroduction of white storks to the UK.
Celebration in Storrington: EuroNatur Project manager Dr Justine Vansynghel (2nd from left) presents the membership certificates for the European Stork Village Network. Also pictured: Mark Cramer, Chair of Storrington and Sullington Parish Council; Isabella Tree, Knepp Rewilding; Laura Vaughan-Hirsch, White Stork Manager Knepp (from left to right)
© Anja Arning
Newly hatched: A few days old white stork chicks in the nest. This is on the ground in a enclosed area of the site. The parents are injured and partially unable to fly. They have been nursed back to health at the Knepp Estate and supported with additional feeds so that they can raise their young.
© Anja Arning
White storks are sociable birds. Not only do they breed close together, they also forage together in the fields and meadows of the Knepp estate.
© Knepp Estate/ White Stork ProjectStorrington, Radolfzell. The network of fifteen ‘European Stork Villages’ has grown one village stronger since 5 May 2025. As part of the first Stork & Wildlife Revival Festival in Storrington, the international nature conservation foundation EuroNatur honoured the English Knepp Wildland and Storrington as a ‘European Stork Village’. The White Stork colony in Knepp is part of the White Stork Project, an initiative to rebuild a wild breeding population in the UK, where White Storks had been extinct for centuries.
‘We are very pleased to have accepted Knepp Estate and Storrington as an English stork village that shares the values of the initiative and fulfils its requirements,’ says Dr Justine Vansynghel, Project Manager at EuroNatur. ‘With its rewilding approach, Knepp and Storrington brings new impetus to the network, which the other Stork villages are also pleased about,’ says the biologist. ‘The choice also emphasises the unifying character of the network: whether an EU member or not, Europe knows no borders when it comes to protecting our migratory birds.’
"We are honored we’re accepted into this network. We’re really excited to be working, collaborating with our new colleagues across the continent. We are also especially proud to be taking part in what we hope will become an annual event of national importance at our Storrington Stork and Wildlife Recovery Festival," says Laura Vaughan-Hirsch, White Stork Project Manager at Knepp Estate.
Background information:
- European Stork Villages’ initiative: Since 1994, EuroNatur has been recognising villages and communities as “European Stork Villages” where many storks live and which are particularly committed to protecting storks. In this way, EuroNatur is creating a growing alliance for the protection of the birds of prey and counteracting the increasing loss of habitat for white storks in Europe. After almost ten years, Knepp Estate and Storrington have been honoured as stork village number 16. Further information can be found at the stork villages website or at the euronatur website.
- The English White Stork Project is a co-operation between the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, the Cotswold Wildlife Park, the Knepp Estate, Wadhurst Park and the Knepp Wildland Foundation, with the active support of volunteers who help with bird care, public relations and nest monitoring. The project also provides important information about the storks' migration route to North Africa. Habitat loss, hunting, pesticides and power lines are putting pressure on stork populations, so their protection requires international co-operation. Further information is available at the project's website.
Press contact:
Christian Stielow, EuroNatur, christian.stielow(at)euronatur.org, Tel.: 07732/927215
Laura Vaughan-Hirsch, White Stork Project, laura(at)kneppwildlandfoundation.org
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