The White Stork Project

At Bere Marsh Farm we want to use the white stork as an emblematic bird for floodplain restoration.

There is a huge need to recover nature associated with the River Stour and its floodplain, and a key part is to reduce adverse impacts of historic and modern land drainage and intensive agriculture.

White Storks became extinct as a breeding species in Britain long ago, but a new breeding population has been established at the Knepp Estate in Sussex. Birds from this estate are free-living and we know that at least one has been seen nearby to Bere Marsh Farm.

As the CRT begins the journey of nature regeneration at Bere Marsh Farm, it is proposed to erect four stork nest towers on floodplain fields adjacent to the River Stour that will provide ideal nesting sites for this species. The nest baskets will be manufactured from galvanised steel for durability, with each one mounted on a telegraph pole.

With ready-made nest towers, we hope that some of the visiting white storks will choose Bere Marsh Farm to stay, nest and raise a new generation of this emblematic bird.

How you can help the white stork

We are currently looking for four local businesses to sponsor a nest tower. It will cost £1,500 and for that you will receive:

• Your name and logo on a display board on the nest tower and on the CRT website. An estimated 80,000 people per year currently use the North Dorset Trailway which runs through Bere Marsh Farm.
• A tour of the farm with a talk from our resident wildlife expert – the perfect staff awayday. Your staff could come and spend a team-building day volunteering on the farm, preparing for the nest towers’ arrival and enjoying being outdoors together – all highly beneficial for staff wellbeing.
• Your name and logo included within our members magazine, The Lark, which is read by circa 2,500 people.

Sponsorship is a fantastic way to support the CRT whilst generating brand awareness and commitment to local projects amongst your community and customers.

For more information please see our  Corporate Sponsorship Pack