Storrington earns a new European village status
Storrington has become newsworthy after the media picked up on the new status, endowed on Storrington together with Knepp Wildland, as being a European Stork Village. Jointly, this partnership is recognised as the only area in the UK to be part of the Stork Villages Network across Europe.
The “European Stork Villages Network” is a transboundary initiative to help address habitat loss for storks in Europe. Since 1994, the German-based EuroNatur foundation has honoured 15 villages in 15 European countries for the conservation of white storks. Knepp and Storrington will be European Stork Village no. 16.
To celebrate this honour, a “White Stork and Nature Revival” Festival is being hosted by the Storrington & Sullington Parish Council on Monday 5th May at Chanctonbury Leisure Centre 10.30am to 4.30pm. The Council is privileged to be working alongside Knepp’s White Stork Project to host this major community event. As a result, Storrington is experiencing a rebirth – a breath of fresh air and excitement – whilst it prepares for this brand-new festival to mark the return of the White Stork from its migratory journey to Europe and Africa.
Don’t miss the naming ceremony 10:30am to 11:00am which will involve prominent invited guests. Later in the day enjoy the celebration White Stork & Nature Revival Festival Concert by the Bernadi Music Group in St Mary’s Parish Church 6.30pm to 9.00pm
We are excited to share this news and hope that many of you can join us on the day. Find more details on the event at our events page: StorkNatureFest2025.
The White Stork is a charismatic bird and an icon for nature revival around Storrington and the Arun Valley. Storrington has long had an association with storks; its old English name of Storca-tūn or Estorchetone means stork’s town or homestead of the storks. A new association with the internationally acclaimed Knepp branding confers a unique recognition of Storrington’s historic context.
With the breeding success at Knepp, the storks will soon start spreading to the wider landscape. Storrington is only 1 mile from internationally recognised wetlands at nearby Amberley Wildbrooks and Pulborough Brooks, and about 10 miles from the renowned rewilding site at Knepp. Storks have all they need here to feed in our wetland-grassland mosaic of habitats, surrounded by big old trees to nest and rear their young. Storrington is thus ideally located to welcome storks to this area as they start to naturally colonise.
The association of the Council with the Knepp Wildland Foundation is one that will be nurtured and developed. This is a game-changer for Storrington, and it will inject an immediate interest and vibrancy into Storrington and Sullington plus the surrounding area. Longer-term, it is believed this partnership of Storrington and the Knepp Wildland as a joint Stork Village has the potential to build a unique character for the area. The intention is therefore also to make this an annual celebration to mark the return of the White Stork, and build on the festival, year-by-year.
See the following websites:
Storrington & Sullington Parish Council
EuroNatur Stiftung (European Natural Heritage Foundation)
European Stork Villages Network
For any queries please email us at: StorkNatureFest2025@outlook.com
Please use this hashtag on all social media platforms: #storknaturefest2025
Submitted to the Storrington Community Website using the News Item contact form.