The stork is particularly close to the hearts of the people of Rust and is considered the city’s heraldic bird. For this reason, a separate “Association for the Protection of the White Stork” was founded around 1980. Since then, this association has successfully taken care of the preservation and the creation of feeding places as well as the maintenance of the nests. It also runs a stork sanctuary, where injured or weakened storks receive medical care until they can be released back into the wild. Thanks to this work, the stork population in Rust has stabilized in recent years. In the summer months, about 15 pairs breed on the chimneys of the old houses in Rust and raise about 32 young storks there.