Communities come together to celebrate the future of Tolworth Court Farm
Tolworth Court Farm’s vision to become one of London’s leading nature reserves was celebrated at an event hosted by Kingston Council on 15 July.
The event included a series of talks about the Wild Tolworth Rewilding Project which aims to transform the nature reserve by maximising biodiversity to make it a valuable nature reserve for wildlife and local communities. Talks were given by Elliot Newton, Biodiversity Officer at Kingston Council, Robin Hutchinson - Community Brain, Ben Stockwell - Citizen Zoo, Councillor Ian Manders, Portfolio Holder for Climate Action, Biodiversity, Planning Policy and Councillor Liz Green, Mayor of Kingston.
Local specialists led tours discussing the diverse wildlife inhabiting the area and the proposed rewilding initiatives. Attendees were also treated to a variety of pop up stalls from organisations such as the Surbiton Bird Watchers and a Ukrainian embroidery stall which truly embraced the rich and diverse community that makes the borough so special.
Cattle also joined the celebrations, returning to the site for the first time in half a century, showcasing the steps that the Council and its partners are taking to promote ecological recovery.
Rebecca Dunne, member of Surbiton District Bird Watchers said:
"What a great day! Surbiton and District Birdwatching Society were delighted to help celebrate the start of this innovative rewilding project with such enthusiastic people, with big plans, who are making things happen. SDBWS look forward to watching Tolworth Court Farm become a haven for wildlife.”
This achievement has been made possible through Kingston Council’s collaboration with The Community Brain and Citizen Zoo, and funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project has also received additional support from the Mayor's Rewild London Fund and ZSL, and Kingston Council's Capital Parks Programme. The Rewild London Fund is administered by environmental and community charity, Groundwork London.
Robin Hutchinson, Community Brain said:
“Wild Tolworth is a fabulous opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of rewilding in a suburban/urban environment and the launch gave a chance to explain and demonstrate the vision with our local communities.”
Ben Stockwell, Citizen Zoo said:
“Citizen Zoo is thrilled to be working on the Wild Tolworth project, which promises to be a pivotal nature reserve in the Borough due to its impressive scale and prime location along the Hogsmill River.
Our management approach will leverage free-roaming livestock's natural grazing and browsing behaviours to foster habitat creation, setting the stage for a vibrant, ever-changing ecosystem. To have cows back on site for the first time in decades for the launch event was just a taster of what is to come and we are excited about the benefits this project will offer for biodiversity and the local community alike.”
Find out more about Tolworth Court Farm on the Kingston Council website.
Notes to editor:
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage.Tolworth Court Farm is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to maximise biodiversity at this site.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.
Over the next ten years, the Heritage Fund aims to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.
The Heritage Fund helps protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.
The Heritage Fund is passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund www.heritagefund.org.uk.
About Groundwork London
Groundwork London works with communities across the capital to transform their lives and the places they live. We have been at the forefront of social and environmental regeneration in London for over 40 years, and today we have a simple mission: to create better places, improve people’s prospects, and promote greener living and working.
Useful links:
https://www.groundwork.org.uk/london/grants-london/