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Calling all animal-loving Londoners! Soon you’ll be able to spot more than just pigeons, seagulls and the odd rat in the capital, as a new rewilding project is bringing back two rare animal species to the city. The project is called Rewilding East London, and it’s taking place in Eastbrookend Country Park in Dagenham.
After going extinct as breeding birds in the 1400s due to overhunting and habitat loss, white storks are coming back to the capital – but that isn’t all. The Mayor of London-backed scheme will also reintroduce beavers to the area.
White storks are distinguished by their lanky legs, monochrome feathers and large stature (standing up to 1.5m tall). The birds’ return to the capital will be quite the occasion – and not just for bird-nerds. While white storks are native to the British Isles, up until now they have mostly been breeding across central and southern Europe.
Beavers aren’t so unheard of in London. The creatures, famed for building dams and lodges all with their teeth, already feature at Paradise Fields in Ealing, which is the UK’s only publicly accessible urban beaver site.
The goal of Rewilding East London is to boost biodiversity and improve access to nature and green spaces in Dagenham. But how will these animals be looked after in the capital? Well, as well as restoring wetland habitats, the project will boast a purpose-built aviary – or in layman's terms, a ‘bird house’ – for the storks (and hopefully their chicks). The beavers will stay in an accessible enclosure with two lakes, featuring natural woodland.
The project will be delivered in partnership with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Sam Davenport, Director of Nature Recovery at London Wildlife Trust, said: ‘Reintroducing iconic flagship species like white storks and beavers 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.’
In short, east London’s wildlife-spotting scene is about to get a lot juicier. Londoners will be able to visit the storks from October 2026 at Eastbrookend Country Park in Dagenham, while the new beavers will be there from March 2027.
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