Welcome to the dedicated Beaver Project webpage. We’re hugely excited to be pioneering this conservation project, in partnership with Natural England, The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, Environment Agency and North Norfolk Coast Partnership.
In September 2021 – having completed a detailed feasibility assessment and successful crowdfunder campaign – a pair of native Eurasian beavers were released to a fully secure enclosure in North Norfolk.
We’re confident that returning this ‘keystone’ species will provide a wide variety of benefits for wildlife and people including cleaning water, holding back floodwater, enhancing biodiversity and capturing carbon. Regular research and monitoring is being undertaken to assess their impacts.
We hope that this page provides you with all the information you need including:
Beaver updates
Welcoming our first beaver kit: July 2023
We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our newest member – a beaver kit named Roo! After being hunted to extinction in the UK over 400 years ago, the birth of this kit marks a significant milestone in this collaborative and carefully planned project. Find out more here.
Farming Social Hub – Nature’s great architects: June 2023
We invited Sarah Juggin’s, journalist and founder of the Farming Social Hub, to visit the Glaven beaver enclosure and see first-hand how the site has transformed in just 18 months.
Tune in to this episode of the podcast, recorded live from the beaver enclosure, to hear why we are convinced that beavers can add huge value to a farmed-landscape – from drought and flood management, to water quality improvement and biodiversity enhancement.
Listen here.
Busy beavers: January 2022
The beavers have already constructed 6 impressive dams across two channels. These have been very effective at creating deep pools, slowing and storing water and trapping sediment. As a result, there is a marked improvement in water clarity immediately downstream.
They’ve also erected a solid winter fortress – known as a ‘lodge’ – on the riverbank, just upstream of their first dam. This is made out of a mass of sticks, bark and mud, and will have an underwater entrance tunnel for safety. A series of ‘runs’ (paths) have appeared, which the beavers use to move between the main stream and other channels. Over time, the beavers will deepen these runs and they will turn into canals, connecting the water from the channels to the floodplain, thereby creating an improved and complex wetland habitat.
The habitat changes are already piquing the curiosity of a variety of visitors including various bird species (blackbird, nuthatch, sparrow hawk, tawny owl and barn owl), otters, stoats, mice and even a polecat!
These are wonderful early signs of what these industrious creatures can do to improve the value of a landscape for biodiversity and river health. The site is constantly evolving, and we really can’t wait to see how it transforms over the coming months, spring in particular will be magical!
Videos
Below are two excellent and highly informative short videos that provide a wealth of information about reintroducing beavers and the benefits that they can provide:
- England’s First Wild Beavers in Over 400 Years! UK Beavers on the River Otter, Devon (credit and thanks to Roxy the zoologist)
- Beavers Without Borders: a short documentary (credit and thanks to the Beaver Trust)
FAQs
We’ve compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions about beavers. We hope that these will answer your questions, but if not, please do contact us.
Events
Join us for a tour of the North Norfolk beaver site, where you will see first-hand how their arrival is helping to mitigate flood risk, improve river health and create a diverse and complex habitat to benefit wildlife.
Tickets for the tours can be purchased with a ‘pay what you can’ donation (all proceeds will be invested into the reintroduction project and maintenance of the beaver enclosure).
Available dates and tickets can be viewed here.
Keep in touch
If you’d be interested in attending an event, or would like us to keep in touch with updates on the Beaver Project, please complete the form below.
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Support the project
Ongoing funds are required for research and monitoring, as well as for maintaining the beaver enclosure itself.
If you’d like to support the Beaver Project, that’s fantastic news and much appreciated!
You can donate securely via Paypal by clicking the ‘donate’ button below.
Contact us
If you need any further information on the project, please email us at [email protected]
Credit: Craig Lymm
