Project Dates: 15.05.25 to 15.05.26

Keep it Wild CIC runs a number of projects in support of nature. From land acquisition to the ambitious Species Recovery Centre based in Devon. This unique operation breeds lost and rare species and builds captive breeding knowledge and expertise to produce high volumes of these important species to restore Britain’s nature depleted landscape.

Devon’s rural landscape was once a haven for biodiverse wildlife on land and in its coastal waters, but intensive farming and escalating housing developments have severely diminished Devon’s natural thriving landscape and connectivity.. While we are now lucky to be witnessing many exciting new landscape-scale nature recovery projects happening across the country, they will not be able to reach their full vibrant potential when several key species are missing from existing ecosystems.

Therefore, the Species Recovery Centre aims to return high volumes of lost and rare species to our nature-depleted landscape. Keep it Wild is developing cutting-edge captive breeding expertise to expand populations of keystone species that can be returned to suitably recovered ecosystems.

The project is focusing efforts on a range of important species, including: White and Black storks, Wildcats, Adders, Red-backed shrikes, Black grouse, Turtle doves, Glowworms, and Mole crickets. These species are all considered vital to the health and function of restored landscapes across the UK.

 

Year 2

The team will continue to build expertise in breeding, caring for, and releasing these lost and endangered UK native species. They will work with partner landowners to create satellite breeding and release facilities, to make the operation more resilient and breed the animals closer to their potential release sites.

 

White stork and turtle dove releases in the News:

Storks soar over Devon again after ‘600 years’ – BBC News

Storks return to skies after rewilding | Tavistock Times Gazette 

(White storks bred at Keep it Wild, Species Recovery Centre, and reared and released at The Broadridge Farm Rewilding Project).

European Turtle Doves and White Storks released in Devon – BirdGuides

Rewilding Coombeshead: Come Face-To-Face With Rare Native Breeds At Devon Spot

This project is generously enabled by Vivobarefoot and a collection of private donors.

Image credits: Keep it Wild CIC.

IMPACT SUMMARY September 2025

Project Activities:

• New births have increased the stock of Wildcats to 60+
• Bred Storks at various sites to nearly 40.
• Now have 9 breeding pairs of Twites.
• Have accumulated 3 breeding pairs of black stork and 4 additional males.
• New stork pens have been built at Rewilding Coombeshead, and at Cannwood, an extensive new Black Grouse facility has been constructed at Coombeshead.
• Releases of storks have taken place at 2 locations in Devon, 150 turtle doves have been released from 3 locations, releases of glow worms have also occurred this year.
• Working with the Beaver Trust to facilitate beaver translocations.

 

Project Impact:

• The overarching impact of the project is to build breeding stocks of the 10 species in the program and to facilitate releases as the stock builds to a level suitable to enable this. Through doing so, the project is working to restore native but lost species.
• Increased populations of rare and endangered UK species including white and black storks, wildcats, adder, black grouse, turtle doves, beaver, red-backed shrikes, twites, glow worms and mole crickets.
• The establishment of a pool of knowledge pertinent to the techniques required to keep, breed and propagate threatened native wildlife.