Following a landmark land acquisition at Middleton Moor, a significant milestone in the Trust’s vision to reconnect landscapes and create more space for nature at scale, this project marks the next major step in its long-term strategy to restore lost species.
Supported by more than £300,000 from Veolia Environmental Trust through the Landfill Communities Fund, the project represents an exciting opportunity for white stork recovery in the region. Centred at Willington Wetlands, the Trust plans to create a purpose-built white stork enclosure in consultation with Celtic Rewilding, specialists running a captive breeding facility just over the border in Staffordshire.
The enclosure, located within a low-disturbance conservation area and designed to be predator-proof and adaptable for future species recovery projects, will support breeding, chick development, and carefully managed soft releases into the wider landscape.
A pair of flightless storks will also be introduced to the site to help attract wild birds moving through the Trent Valley and encourage settlement and breeding.
This will be a community-led project with local volunteers engaged in habitat restoration across the reintroduction site. There is also the development of a digital experience to engage new visitors and those who can’t access the site, creating a platform for volunteers to share their sightings, photos and video footage.
As a key indicator of healthy wetland ecosystems, white storks play an important role in enhancing biodiversity, regulating small animal populations, building and abandoning nests that support other birds, and connecting different sites as they fly between them. The endearing species, often depicted delivering babies in beloved stories, also inspire a connection between people and nature.
The iconic native species would have been present across the county until the 14th century, when loss of habitat and hunting led to their disappearance. More recently, sightings have increased, including birds recorded flying over Willington Wetlands in 2024 and nearby in 2025, but none have yet stayed to breed.
Willington Wetlands has been identified as a critical stepping stone for stork recovery. The 113-acre reserve sits beside the River Trent, a key ecological corridor, and hosts dynamic wetland habitat shaped by natural rewilding processes, including the activity of beavers. These processes are creating wet grassland, open pools and reedbeds that provide ideal foraging and nesting conditions for storks.
