A conservation group are hoping to re-wild Kingston and promote biodiversity in the borough with a new film launching this summer.

Citizen Zoo will premier their new film: WILD Kingston at the Rose Theatre on Kingston High Street on Sunday, June 9.

The event will feature talks on some of the borough's best-loved and most surprising wildlife, plus the premier of a film put together last summer by some very illustrious nature television gurus.

Speaking to the Surrey Comet, Citizen Zoo's Elliot Newton said that the project is as much about community engagement as it is about conservation.

The two, Mr Newton said, go hand in hand: "The plan is to enthuse local people about our natural heritage, the great biodiversity and species that Kingston has and to improve nature reserves, parks and green spaces across the borough.

"We want to celebrate the people doing environmental work in the borough and give them a bit of a platform.

"We're also hoping to engender people putting a greater value on the nature around them and hopefully get out there and do some volunteering," he added.

Citizen Zoo say they want to act as mediators between Kingston residents who want to do their bit for the natural world in the area, but might not know how to start, and the borough's conservationists themselves.

One key aspect of the group's plans centres around their mission to promote some of the flora and fauna that thrive in the borough.

The film's June premier will hope to wow attendees by showcasing some of the amazing wildlife that resides in Kingston.

The team behind WILD Kingston suggest that will indeed be the case.

The film was put together by Citizen Zoo in collaboration with Tom Hooker — a local BBC cameraman whose credits include some the BBC's world-renowned nature documentaries including Blue Planet II and Natural World.

Actor and TV Presenter Griff Rhys Jones also features on the video as the narrator.

Mr Newton said that the work done by Citizen Zoo — a UK-wide re-wilding organization — was a key inspiration behind what WILD Kingston is trying to do.

"We want to engage communities with nature in an empowering way.

"We fundamentally believe anyone can be a conservationist given the right support, skillset and guidance," he said.

"We want to re-wild people too!" Mr Newton added. "What I mean by that is reconnecting people with nature, getting them inspired, getting them outdoors and bringing wildlife back into their life."

"A lot of the green spaces in London and Kingston too are quite impoverished and more devoid of wildlife than they should be. We can actively work with the community to bring this wildlife back and make them nicer places to live and more functional as ecosystems too..."

To book attendance at the event, go to https://www.rosetheatrekingston.org/whats-on/wild-kingston

For more information about WILD Kingston, and Citizen Zoo see their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2418253601564876/