IN PICTURES: Volunteers help hidden Tolworth nature reserve for National Rewilding Day

A number of volunteer rewilders from across London helped clean up the Kingston Borough's largest nature reserve yesterday, 20 March.

The event was organised by nonprofit Citizen Zoo as part of a wider regeneration programme in collaboration with the site owners, Kingston Council and local community group The Community Brain.

The Tolworth Court Farm rewilding event was held as part of the UK's National Rewilding Day, which has taken place at the beginning of spring each year since 2021.

Alongside litter picking and learning about the reserve itself, volunteers also got a chance to speak to Elliot Newton, Kingston Council's biodiversity officer, about the future plans for the area.

"This project will only succeed if people get involved," said Mr Newton.

The next 12 months will see the introduction of new entrances to the site, development of more wetland habitats, and even grazing livestock roaming across the reserve.

Citizen Zoo hopes their conservation efforts along with community involvement will help bring more native species back to the area.

This includes the possibility of bats and glow worms, which would benefit from the site's low levels of light pollution.

Work on the area has been made possible by over £500k of grants from organisations like The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Mayor's Rewild London Fund and ZSL.

While Citizen Zoo focuses on fostering Tolworth Court Farm's biodiversity, The Community Brain is pushing towards greater community engagement with green spaces across Tolworth as part of their Green Infrastructure Audit.

This is part of their wider efforts towards promoting the area's forgotten heritage in attention-grabbing ways, such as their song about the once-local Gala Cosmetics company called Miner's Line.

Meanwhile, Citizen Zoo is running a number of projects in the rest of west London, including the introduction of wild beavers in nearby Ealing.

Those interested in joining Citizen Zoo's mission can learn more here.