Rewilding London

Thank you to everyone who took part in our survey.

We’ve analysed what you told us and presented your comments and survey responses to the London Rewilding Taskforce during a meeting in City Hall on 8 November 2022.

Here’s what they said:

Here’s a summary of what you told us:

Responding to Rewilding

Awareness of rewilding among you was high. Most of you felt confident in your knowledge of rewilding, with almost 2 in 5 of you (38%) saying that you felt very confident on the subject.  

When asked to define rewilding, you said that it was making use of unmanaged spaces to allow wildlife to thrive (88%) as well as creating woodland and spaces for wildlife (84%) and reintroducing wildlife (77%).

Overall, you consider rewilding to be important (92%). Only 1% of you felt that rewilding isn’t important at all.

Many of you want more unmanaged spaces rewilded (76%) as well as more woodland and spaces for wildlife (71%). About half of you (53%) would like to reintroduce wildlife and animals into London.

You are most likely to consider vacant land as a suitable location for rewilding (81%) followed by local parks (72%). The least popular location for rewilding is the high street – although 41% of you still considered it an option.

Issues with rewilding

Your biggest issue with rewilding London is that there might be insufficient locations in the capital to rewild (35%). You were also worried that rewilded areas would be inaccessible to visit (15%) and that rewilding might restrict activity in existing green spaces (14%).

Benefits of rewilding

Most of you appreciate the benefits of spending time in green spaces on your mental health (72%) and your physical health and wellbeing (66%). Spending your free time in nature also helps you to feel more productive at work (61%).

By contrast, environmental issues such as declining wildlife is a big concern for many of you. You feel very worried about insects and birds disappearing (76%) and varieties of animals declining (69%).

Getting involved

40% of you are very interested in getting involved with rewilding London.

When asked what rewilding activities you would like to get involved in, 45% of you would be interested in attending in-person events, followed by the 2 in 5 of you (41%) who would like to get involved in awareness-raising and educational activities.