Beaver Trust

Another Landmark Year From releasing beavers to new sites across Britain to inspiring the next generation to connect with nature, 2024 has been a year of significant progress for Beaver Trust. These achievements have brought us closer to our vision of thriving waterways, vibrant with life, where beavers are embraced as an essential part of our biodiverse landscape. None of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our donors, partners, and dedicated community. Thank you for being part of this journey toward restoring Britain’s beaver population. We hope you have a restful break and we look forward to continuing our vital work in 2025.

It’s been immensely rewarding working with with Forestry and Land Scotland to move animals from areas of conflict to locations they own and manage across Scotland over the past year. Our ongoing partnership has and will continue to contribute towards the aim of actively expanding the beaver population into areas where they can bring real environmental benefits as part of Scotland’s National Beaver Strategy.

Nature’s Rapid Response Team Witness a beaver family as they diligently maintain and reinforce a dam in response to rising water levels in their territory. Woody-leaky dams are a well-established tool in river restoration projects. These structures slow water movement, mitigate flooding, and create diverse aquatic and riparian habitats, benefiting numerous species. However, human-made dams are often prone to failures, such as blowouts during high water flows or vegetation growth that weakens their structure. Maintenance of these dams becomes a frequent, labor-intensive, and costly task, often requiring specialised equipment and expertise. As ecosystem engineers, beavers excel not only at building but also at maintaining their structures. When water levels rise or dams sustain damage, beavers instinctively respond, often repairing or reinforcing their dams within 24 to 48 hours. This rapid reaction ensures that their habitats remain functional and resilient to environmental changes. Beavers’ ability to adapt and maintain their constructions provides invaluable ecosystem services at no cost to humans. Learn more about beavers and the ecosystem services they provide on our website 👇 https://beavertrust.org/

Beavers are returning to Britain’s landscapes after centuries of absence, and with them comes an opportunity to restore balance to our riverscapes and rethink how we coexist with nature. As we explore the role of beavers in our landscapes, it’s essential to think holistically about both wildlife and food production. Eva Bishop, Beaver Trust’s Head of Communications & Education, recently visited Somerset to join Neil Parish from the We Can Do Both podcast and Jan Stannard from Heal Rewilding for a fascinating discussion about the balance between food production and nature restoration. "We can do both, and, more importantly, we really need to do both because they're mutually supportive. It's not about 'how do we produce food never mind wildlife' or 'how do we conserve wildlife never mind food' - it has to be both because of the climate pressure we're under." Highlights include: ➡️ The concerns some farmers have about beavers (2m50s) ➡️ How beavers increase biodiversity, including supporting up to 12 species of bats (6m19s) ➡️ Beavers’ positive impact on water management, reducing flooding and drought (11m45s) ➡️ Techniques for managing beaver activity alongside farming (17m37s) ➡️ Using conservation to diversify farm income (20m52s) ➡️ Steps farmers can take if they’re interested in having beavers on their land (27m02s) We’re committed to helping farmers and communities navigate this transition, from supporting coexistence with beavers to encouraging appropriate payments for biodiversity and pushing forward policy change. Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/e_MciBzy? What’s your perspective on how we can balance food production and wildlife conservation? Share your thoughts below 👇 #beavers #beavertrust #WeCanDoBoth #naturerecovery #farmingandwildlife

Processing drone surveys undertaken on field work this week by myself, G Bradbury and Kirsty Frith. These screenshots show two wetlands that #beavers have created after being released into small streams running through woodland sites in lowland English landscapes. At both these sites our hydrological monitoring results show statistically significant downstream reductions in peak flows following rain storms. So a lot of similarities between the sites. However, a interesting difference is that one of these sites is in the midst of the Forest of Dean at a site run by Forestry England whilst the other is in the middle of the city of Plymouth and is part of the Plymouth City Council led Green Minds project. I think we often regard nature recovery and the provision of nature-based solutions as something that happens in the countryside or remote areas. For me processing these surveys side by side, illustrates that we can seek to make space for nature and space for water across both rural and urban landscapes. Also just amazing to escape the office for the Autumn colours! University of Exeter

Thanks to you, we smashed our target of raising £60k to fund beaver restoration 🙌 Imagine a landscape dotted with thriving wetlands, resilient against the increasingly frequent and intense rainfalls we face. This is something we absolutely can achieve, and your donations have brought it a step closer. If you didn’t have a chance to donate to our campaign, don’t worry. There are still lots of environmental projects that have match funds available. You can support one here: https://lnkd.in/e6snabTu Thank you once again to everyone who donated to Beaver Trust in the last week, we are delighted to have your support.

Thanks to you, we’ve nearly reached our Big Give Christmas Challenge target! 🙌 Each donation given between now and midday on Tuesday the 10th of December will be generously match-funded, doubling your impact. Help us reach our goal 👇 https://lnkd.in/eRF2XGyT

You can help bring more beaver-built flood defences back to Britain this festive season 💧 Beavers are nature’s engineers, building dams to create deep, safe water as an escape route from predators. It may sound counterintuitive, but creating wetlands and storing water reduces flood risks downstream. Beaver wetlands slow water down as it passes through an area so it has time to soak into the land, reducing the risk of flooding now and drought later on. We’ve seen five of the ten wettest years for the UK since 1836 happen since 2000, a clear sign that more extreme weather patterns are upon us. You can help us bring beavers back and make our landscapes more resilient to climate change. Help spread the cheer this festive season by donating to the Big Give Christmas Challenge. With match-funding in place, each pound and penny you give before midday on the 10th of December will be doubled! 🙌 https://lnkd.in/eRF2XGyT #climateresilience #naturerecovery #donatetoday #doubleyourimpact #ChristmasChallenge

Did you know that beaver dams don’t just store water, but can clean it too? 🐸   By supporting our Big Give #ChristmasChallenge, you can help bring these incredible benefits to more places. Every donation is match-funded, doubling your impact! 🙌 Their dams slow water flow, allowing sediment and pollutants to sink to the bottom, creating cleaner, safer water for amphibians and many other species. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to polluted water because their permeable skin absorbs water and oxygen directly from their environment. Their eggs and developing tadpoles are also highly sensitive to pollution and toxins. Cleaner ponds and streams are essential for their health, and research has shown that water leaving a beaver-modified site contains up to three times less sediment, resulting in cleaner water 🌿 Help beavers keep our wetlands healthy and bring even more benefits to wildlife by supporting our campaign today. Every penny you donate will be doubled. Make a difference today 👇 https://lnkd.in/eRF2XGyT #naturerecovery #donatetoday #doubleyourimpact

In the face of climate change, we need all the help we can get! These pictures of the beaver wetland at Clinton Devon Estates clearly and visually show just how much water a beaver wetland can hold 💧 With beaver dams stopping water from rushing downstream, it has time to soak into the land, reducing the risk of flooding now and drought later on. Your donation during the Big Give #ChristmasChallenge will bring beavers back to Britain, build more climate-resilient landscapes and help nature and communities thrive. Every gift is match-funded, so your support goes twice as far! You can donate today and help spread the cheer by heading to the link below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eRF2XGyT 📷 Alan Puttock, University of Exeter #climateresilience #naturerecovery #donatetoday #doubleyourimpact