Local Rewilding Projects Given Support from the Mayor


Schemes on Wimbledon Common and Beverley Brook get grant funding


Queensmere on Wimbledon Common will benefit from the grant. Picture: Ben Brooksbank

March 24, 2023

Two local rewilding projects are to receive funding from the Rewild London Fund which was set up by the Mayor to return nature to the capital.

The announcement was made this Monday (20 March) which is World Rewilding Day.

The Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators (WPCC) are being given support for their efforts in restoring ponds and reedbeds in the Commons wetlands.

Wimbledon and Putney Commons are 1,140 acres of open green space managed and owned by the WPCC. The Commons have a rich array of habitats and are designated an SSSI and a Special Area of Conservation. WPCC is embarking on a major conservation project to improve the ponds and other wetland habitats.

This project will deliver the survey and design phase of restoring Queensmere, one of the Common’s largest ponds which is on Wimbledon Common south of Putney Vale Cemetery. The area is far from reaching its full potential for wildlife and Rewild London Funding will help to design reedbed habitat creation in line with London Environment Strategy targets, ensure the pond and surrounding landscape are more resilient and can support increased biodiversity plus build skills and knowledge for managing the ponds and surrounding habitats.

Barnes Conservation, part of Barnes Common Limited, is also to be given a grant to help improve 1.25km of the Beverley Brook to encourage natural processes along the waterway and improve habitat for insects, fish, bats and birds as well as increasing connectivity between Richmond Park National Nature Reserve and Barnes Common Local Nature Reserve. 

The grants come from the £850,000 fund, delivered by the London Wildlife Trust with commitment from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund.

The fund is aiming to give money to projects focusing in and around London’s Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and the Mayor has committed a further £1mn this year for similar projects.

Sadiq Khan said, “We are now facing dual climate and ecological emergencies worldwide, which further threaten our ability to survive on our planet. Despite the harm inflicted on the natural world, we have the power to make amends, and I am committed to ensuring that London is at the vanguard of efforts to reverse the trends of declining biodiversity and the destruction of nature.

“Rewilding allows nature to take the lead and is an exciting way to create healthier ecosystems and allow humans and wildlife to live together more harmoniously. I’m proud that London is leading the way once again and excited to see what can be achieved with this further £1m of funding. We’re cleaning up our city, re-establishing lost species and reconnecting people and nature as we build a greener, fairer city for all Londoners.”

Mathew Frith, Director of Research and Policy at London Wildlife Trust, Rewild London Fund partner and Rewilding Taskforce member said, “This funding enables an exciting tranche of biodiversity projects to further progress nature’s recovery in the capital. They will help strengthen, enhance and extend the important network of over 1600 Wildlife Sites* that forms the foundations of nature conservation in London, and thereby contribute to a wilder, greener city. “

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.