Beavers tours to be launched at country estate
TONY HENDERSON on how we can take a closer look at a new Northumberland family
VISITORS will soon be able to take a guided tour of the home turf of Northumberland’s new beaver family.
The four beavers were introduced last July to their special enclosure at the National Trust’s Wallington estate. They have settled in well and from next month, Newcastle-based Wild Intrigue, a community interest company, will launch its beaver enclosure safaris.
Participants will learn about beaver activities such as gnawed tree stumps, fresh coppice shoots, dug channels and dams.
Wild Intrigue co-director Heather Devey said: “It will be a great opportunity for folk to see some of the ecological impacts the beavers have made throughout winter.
“In July, the beavers stepped back on to Northumbrian land for the first time in centuries, following the pioneering enclosed reintroduction on
Wallington estate. We are delighted to partner with the National Trust to offer a beaver safari to share the architecture and engineering developed by this beaver family.”
Beavers continuously upgrade their wetland habitats, and respond quickly to changes in waterflow, food availability and family relationships. Wild Intrigue has led community involvement at a number of beaver restoration projects in northern England and Scotland, and has shared knowledge of beavers through talks and events.
The first tour at £35 per person will be on April 19. Numbers are restricted at up to eight to minimise disturbance.
The reintroduction of beavers at Wallington is a part of the National Trust’s Wilder Wallington ambition to restore native species and natural ecosystem functions across the 5,321 hectare estate.
The arrival of the beavers in July saw the species return to Northumberland for the first time in around 400 years.
The project has been funded by the Reece Foundation, whose chairperson Anne Reece said: “We hope this is the start of many such reintroductions throughout the North East.”
Beavers were once a mainstay of British rivers but became extinct in the 16th century due to being hunted for their fur, meat and scent glands
Paul Hewitt, countryside manager at the National Trust, said: “Much as they did centuries ago, these instinctive animals will engineer the landscape, creating a dynamic system of dams and ponds that, over time, will become a lush wetland, brimming with life. We have to create space for wildlife to thrive. Beavers are a fantastic tool to help us do that – where they go, fish, insects, birds and amphibians follow.”
Beavers can also lessen the effects of climate change and extreme weather, both by slowing the speed at which water runs through a catchment, and therefore reducing flood risk, and by creating habitats that hold water in the landscape during times of drought.
Monitoring and fixed-point photography will map changes to the ecology and hydrology of the site, including the effects the beavers have on the flow of the river, which is prone to flash flooding.
Researchers at the Environment Agency will also monitor changes to the habitat.