White Stork Restoring a Missing Bird to Britain

FROM THE BESTSELLING, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF WILDING'One of the wisest women alive' JOANNA LUMLEYWhen plans to bring the majestic white stork back to the British landscape first took shape at Knepp Wildland in 2016, Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell could only dream of what the decade ahead would bring. Beloved across Europe, white storks have long been symbols of new life, often associated with the ancient folklore of delivering babies to new parents. Their story in Britain seemed to end in 1416, with a pair nesting on the roof of St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. But what if this charismatic bird could become a symbol of rebirth in the UK, too? What if it could be an ambassador for future rewilding, reigniting public interest in protecting the natural world?From award-winning writer Isabella Tree, this is the extraordinary story of The White Stork Project and its ground-breaking mission to re-establish a wild, breeding population of this once-native species in the UK – from the individuals who have devoted their lives to rewilding and restoring biodiversity, to the challenges of finding funding and cutting through the red tape. At a time when biodiversity loss, environmental collapse and climate change threaten our very survival, Tree reminds us that we can fall in love with nature again. We can help restore ecosystems, to heal some of the wounds we’ve inflicted. And, sometimes, we can bring lost creatures back. Charming, impassioned and profoundly hopeful, White Stork demonstrates how nature’s greatest challenges might be overcome when we, as human beings, recognise our agency in the world around us, and trust in our power to achieve wonderful things.