Mayor announces second round of funding for Rewild London

• Mayor announces second round of funding, adding up to £1.45 million, for Rewild London to make the city a more attractive home for wildlife

• New investment will build on the success of £600,000 worth of projects designed to make London more resilient to climate change
• £850,000 additional funding is available to support wildlife sites across the capital 
• The programme could see creatures long gone from the capital reintroduced

Find out more about the Rewild London Fund: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/green-space-funding/rewild-london-fund-2022

The Mayor convened a Rewilding Taskforce in 2022 to explore opportunities for rewilding in London to support nature recovery and enhance biodiversity. The Taskforce is chaired by Deputy Mayor Shirley Rodrigues and Co-Chaired by Nicky Gavron and Ben Goldsmith. The group will publish its recommendations later this year.

Round one of the Rewild London Fund (£0.6 million) funded 19 projects to enhance London’s most valuable wildlife sites. Projects started in March 2022 and will complete by March 2023.

About London Wildlife Trust

London Wildlife Trust is dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of London’s wildlife and engaging London’s diverse communities in nature through our nature reserves, education, volunteering and campaigning. Their vision is a London alive with nature, where everyone values and takes action for wildlife.

About Amazon

Amazon is the co-founder of and the first signatory to The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040. With more than 375 signatories, including more than 100 from the UK alone, the Pledge signatories are working together on initiatives to preserve the natural world and invest in decarbonising technologies. 

With €20 million committed to projects across the UK and Europe, the Right Now Climate Fund has been set up to conserve, restore and improve forests, wetlands and grasslands, protecting wildlife habitats, biodiversity and enhancing quality of life for communities

See more about Amazon’s support for nature-based solutions on its website: https://sustainability.aboutamazon.co.uk/environment/nature-based-solutions   

The Mayor Sadiq Khan has today launched the second round of his groundbreaking “Rewild London Fund” to create more habitats for animals and plants in order to help make the city greener and more resilient to the effects of climate change.

£850,000 additional funding is available to managers of London’s 1,600 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs), which cover 20 per cent of the capital. These include world-famous nature reserves such as Richmond Park, Sydenham Hill Woods and the downlands in Bromley and Croydon that inspired Charles Darwin’s discoveries. Currently only around half of SINC sites are being appropriately managed to conserve or enhance their particular ecosystems.

Funded projects could include creating new habitats such as meadows or heathlands, restoring waterways or linking up the capital's last remaining ancient woodlands to provide new homes for wildlife such as butterflies as well as birds like tawny owl, swift and skylark. The Rewild London fund could see the restoration of key habitats that would build the foundations for the possible future reintroduction of creatures long gone from the capital.

The Rewild London fund will be delivered in collaboration with London Wildlife Trust who have helped secure a £750,000 commitment from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund,

Round one of the Rewild London Fund in 2021 worth £600,000 supported 19 projects to enhance London’s most valuable wildlife sites. Projects include reintroducing grazing cattle in Enfield; supporting the reintroduction of water voles to the Hogsmill river in Kingston, where 101 water voles were released in August 2022; creating new chalk grassland habitats for butterflies in Sutton; and working with ZSL to help London’s hedgehogs by monitoring them to inform the management of their habitat.

This second round of funding that will be available through Rewild London is receiving £850,000; £250,000 from the GLA and £600,000 from Amazon’s $100 million Right Now Climate Fund.

Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor for the Environment said: “These projects will play a significant role in reintroducing Londoners to the beauty and excitement of nature and will help boost the capital as a haven for wildlife. We want to build a better and greener London for everyone and the Rewild London Fund is helping us to make that a reality.”

Zak Watts, Director of Europe Sustainability, Amazon said: “The London Wildlife Trust has a history of science-based and community-focused work that has a meaningful and lasting impact on biodiversity in the UK. Alongside co-founding the Climate Pledge in 2019 and making a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon by 2040, we are making significant contributions to nature-based solutions to help restore and preserve the natural world.

“We are proud to be supporting the London Wildlife Trust as one of our first UK Right Now Climate Fund commitments and are eager to see the results round two of the Rewild London Fund brings to London.” 

Mathew Frith, Director of Research and Policy at London Wildlife Trust said: “If we in London are to reverse the dramatic decline in many wildlife species and bring about nature’s recovery for the benefit of both biodiversity and people, we must support and encourage every effort to improve our natural green spaces’ ecological resilience and connectivity.

 “Round 2 of the Rewild London Fund will enable us to continue to build on the good work of the fund to date and deliver significant environmental and social benefits to the communities receiving this support. We hope that the successful projects will help to provide further evidence that a wilder London is better for all of us.”

Pamela Abbott, Chair, Citizen Zoo and Rewilding Taskforce Member said  ‘’It's brilliant to see the launch of the second phase of the Rewild London Fund. Last month's release of water voles along the Hogsmill River, supported by the fund, was truly magical. It was the culmination of a community-driven river restoration and species reintroduction project that involved over 350 local volunteers.  With the support of the fund, we are delighted now to be embarking on the next phase of the project; to monitor the water voles as they settle into their new homes along the riverbank.    

London's SINCs are at the heart of the capital's nature network. The fund will enable pioneering conservation efforts to improve the ecology of these vital spaces and demonstrate how people and wildlife can thrive side by side to mutual benefit.’’