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Rewilding at Tolworth Court Farm Fields
A place where nature and community grow wild together.
Tolworth Court Farm Fields is situated in the South of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. At 42 hectares, it is the largest green open space in Kingston comprising seven large meadows. The area is part of the Borough’s rich history with the ghost of Roman Road running through it and having been mentioned in the Domesday Book.
At Wild Tolworth, we're creating more than just a nature reserve. Together with Citizen Zoo, Kingston Council and the local community, we're reimagining this extraordinary urban green space as a living, breathing landscape where wildlife can thrive and people can reconnect with the natural world - and with each other.
Despite being home to ancient hedgerows, a locally significant population of brown hairstreak butterflies and a small fragment of wetland, the series of seven meadows are far from reaching their ecological potential. Wild Tolworth is not only as a vital habitat for wildlife, but as a place for people to share knowledge, care for the land, and rediscover the wild within themselves.
Reintroducing livestock to the land
We believe that rewilding is as much about rewilding people as it is about nature. That means giving people the tools, confidence and opportunities to shape the future of their local landscape.
Adopting the mixed grazing methods of successful rewilding projects in rural areas, such as Knepp Wildland and Wild Ken Hill, we are currently preparing the site for the re-introduction of livestock! We’re reintroducing a small number of grazing animals, including cattle and eventually pigs, to help restore balance to the land in a natural, low-intervention way. Their hooves, snouts and grazing habits will open up new habitats, increase plant diversity and breathe life back into the meadows.
Citizen Zoo are currently recruiting a dedicated team of ‘Wild Guardians’ to conduct checks on the livestock and their welfare everyday. If there are any issues flagged with the individuals or regarding their safety on site we will respond immediately. Do get in touch if you would like to be a part of this group. It is be a wonderful opportunity to get hands-on experience with a traditional breed, and we would love to have you on board!
Restoring the Wetlands: A New Chapter
Long ago, the Hogsmill River shaped these fields, feeding a vibrant wetland. Today, we’re honouring that history by restoring a large wetland system in the Great Meadow. This new habitat will support frogs, birds, and dragonflies—and help protect local homes from flooding. As of July 2025, the work on the wetlands has begun.
Historically, the Hogsmill River flowed through the western corner of Tolworth Court Farm Fields, which acted as a floodplain for the stream. The river was straightened around the 1950s to reduce flooding in the area. This was a commonly used method of flood reduction that counterintuitively passed the risk of flooding on further downstream, as the water flows quicker from A to B. While we would like to have re-diverted the river back through the site, due to electrical, sewage and gas utilities on site, this was not possible. Instead, we will mimic the flow of the river with an enhanced closed system wetland.
We’re also making sure it’s open to all, with a wheelchair-friendly boardwalk that will let everyone experience the beauty and stillness of this hidden waterworld.
Work to date
For several years now, we have been working to improve the visibility of the site, which is largely hidden due to its bordering of two major roads and the large bunds and trees that surround the site. We collaborated with 121 Collective and the community to renovate a key entrance to the reserve with several enhancements built around the existing infrastructure: a welcoming new gate with signage, totem posts representing the reserve's fauna, and a bug hotel inspired by the form of Tolworth Tower. We are now exploring further enhancements to this entrance, and the other gateways to the nature reserve.
So far, the Wild Tolworth partners have coordinated comprehensive ecological surveying including engaging with nationally recognised invertebrate experts and botanists, as well as pioneering bioacoustics surveys delivered by Carbon Rewild. Further to this work, there have been over 15 Community Field Recorders Days, where volunteers learn from species experts to help survey the site and learn more about the incredible wild within the reserve. Find out more about the work Citizen Zoo have been doing in this area.
There have also been a number of community events including nature walks, creative sessions and information evenings, inviting local people to celebrate the existing nature on site and share their visions for its future. If you're from a local school or community group and would like to organise a visit, or you're simply curious to find out more, please get in touch.
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