Overview

• Citizen Zoo has completed its first survey of 1,000 residents and is conducting targeted outreach to borough councils and frequent visitors for phase two feedback.
• The two-phase appraisal is led by University of Brighton researcher Dr Rachel White, mirroring her national study on reintroduction attitudes.
• Sightings of white storks in Greater London jumped from 27 in the four decades before 2016 to 472 between 2016 and 2023, underscoring growing urban visits.
• Findings will determine whether London pursues natural colonisation through habitat creation or opts for managed releases similar to the Sussex White Stork Project.
• The initiative builds on Citizen Zoo’s urban rewilding successes, including beaver returns to Ealing and water vole reintroductions in Surrey.