A Cornish farm. Twenty-one chicks. One landscape, recovering.

The story

When they started breeding Storks at Hamatethy lots of people kept asking questions: Can we help with the project? Can we get birds? Do you want more breeding aviaries? What's the plan?

It soon became clear that many people were interested in seeing these birds back in the landscape and wanted to help make that happen. So Yan got together with the other founding Trustee, Chris, and they registered The Cornwall Stork Project with the Charity Commission and formulated an ambitious plan to reintroduce these birds to Cornwall and the South-West.

The science

White Storks have a strong natal philopatry. They return to where they first flew from. Imported adults will not establish; only chicks hatched and reared in Cornwall will imprint and return from migration. Chicks are released in late summer in groups of ten or twenty, exploring widely. Older Knepp birds already reach Cornwall and the Scillies and will help guide ours south.

A flagship species

Storks are not a keystone species. Their power is in being seen. They open the conversation about healthy soils, abundant insect life, restored wetlands, and the regenerative farming this landscape needs.

Following Knepp

We follow the proven model established at the Knepp Estate in Sussex, adapted for the Cornish landscape. This is not a speculative project. It is a field-tested approach with the partners and patience to see it through.