{"id":37378,"date":"2024-04-09T10:47:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T08:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b672e751-7776-4936-90f3-50abfd310c28"},"modified":"2024-04-09T11:35:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T09:35:43","slug":"beavers-are-saving-the-most-photographed-village-in-england-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/beavers-are-saving-the-most-photographed-village-in-england-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Beavers are saving the ‘most photographed village in England’. Here’s how"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years after being released on an estate in Essex, beavers are reducing the risks of both drought and flooding in the nearby village of Finchingfield, suggests a new study. <\/p>

By Adele Brand\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 09 April 2024 at 08:47 AM<\/p>

\n\n

In an East Anglian woodland flanked by agriculture, an engineering project is taking place for the first time in centuries. A beaver packs mud into a dam across Finchingfield Brook, and the human residents of a pretty Essex village not far downstream benefit from its behaviour. <\/p>

Beavers<\/a> were reintroduced to the Spains Hall Estate<\/a> in 2019 under licence from Natural England<\/a> as part of a natural flood management project developed between the estate and the Environment Agency<\/a>. <\/p>

Over a five-year period, beavers have built nine dams, storing an estimated three million litres of stormwater. Credit: Spains Hall Estate<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Unorthodox flood management<\/h2>

Once extinct in Britain due to medieval hunting, beavers have been increasingly sought for reintroduction projects<\/a> \u2013 not only to restore nature but to combat flooding.<\/p>

New evidence from Spains Hall Estate suggests that this unorthodox approach to flood risk can work. The nine dams that the reintroduced beavers \u2013 now numbering 11 \u2013 have built are storing an estimated three million litres of stormwater, slowing the flow and softening sudden outbursts downstream. <\/p>

Not only does this tame torrential winter downpours, but the ponds that accumulate behind the dams also provide a steady supply of water during the summer.\u00a0<\/p>

The nine dams that the reintroduced beavers have built are storing an estimated three million litres of stormwater, slowing the flow and softening sudden outbursts downstream. <\/p><\/blockquote>

The beavers undertake this landscape management to submerge the entrances to their own burrows, but the wider impacts are dramatic. <\/p>

Apart from the potential benefits to people, wildlife as diverse as invertebrates<\/a>, kingfishers<\/a> and bats thrive in the new wetland habitat. Beavers open up the canopy as they fell trees, providing niches for shade-intolerant plants. <\/p>

The project suggests that beaver activity reduces flooding and benefits wildlife such as kingfishers, bats and invertebrates. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Beavers: for and against<\/h2>

Their impact in the wider British landscape is not completely free from controversy, however; agricultural land can be flooded and anglers express concerns about trout and salmon being unable to migrate past dams. However, recent research has suggested that beaver ponds can provide important trout habitat.<\/p>

Beavers have been increasingly sought for reintroduction projects in the UK \u2013 not only to restore nature but to combat flooding. Credit: Spains Hall Estate<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Back in the Finchingfield Brook, beavers enjoy support from the village. <\/p>

Archie Ruggles-Brise, Spains Hall Estate Manager, comments: \u201cWe took a chance five years ago that bringing beavers back would be beneficial, and it\u2019s proven to be better than we could ever have imagined. <\/p>

“Locally there is widespread support for the beavers and their work, with the community really taking them to their heart. You can even find beaver greetings cards, beaver beer and beaver-themes on local menus!\u201d <\/p>

\"Finchingfield
Residents of Finchingfield \u2013 ‘the most photographed village in England’ \u2013 largely support the beavers and their work, says Archie Ruggles-Brise, Spains Hall Estate Manager. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>