The village square at Place Villerest in central Storrington now greets you with a striking mural depicting a family of nesting storks. It’s the culmination of a successful community project.
From left to right: Janet Brown (Photographer), Daryl Bennett (Artist), Viviane Doussy (Mural coordinator), Tony Whitbread (Knepp Wildland Foundation)
Storks are our village insignia. The stork mural reflects the interest in the live stork nest webcam beaming around the village from the Knepp White Stork Project. The interpretation board in front of the artwork explains that Knepp recently paired up with Storrington to be named the first (and only!) UK stork village. We have become part of a network of 15 other unique stork villages across Europe sharing an interest in rebuilding the habitats needed for storks and indeed all of nature to thrive.
A stork mural was commissioned in celebration of this momentous award in 2025. The planning and logistics were pursued and together, we slowly gathered the necessary funds too. The crowdfunder has now closed with wonderful contributions from over 50 donations. A big thank-you to you all! A shout-out also to those who came by during its creation and took an interest on social media to express your positive take on this artwork.
Many would not have had the opportunity to see this mural in the making. It is the work of street artist @SinnaOne from Brighton. Local photographer, Janet Brown has collated a rather special little visual, taking us through the various phases of this community project. Make sure to check out this 5-minute video link. The music is an original piece by Chloe Hawkey sung by the Gathering Light choir at the 2nd White Stork & Nature Festival at the end of May this year.
We hope that villagers and visitors continue to sit next the beautiful little River Stor under the big tree at this historic square and enjoy the mural. It offers a pause from our daily bustle to contemplate the storks as a prominent emblem for nature restoration – and what we can do and achieve as a community.
Written by Viviane Doussy, a Storrington resident.
Submitted to the Storrington Community Website using the News Item contact form.