Western Morning News (Saturday)
Beavers to get a taste of city life in new nature reserve
More details have emerged of a plan to put a family of beavers into a fenced nature reserve in Plymouth. But will it be a good fit? reports
THEY have colonised parts of the River Otter in East Devon, are now to be found in numbers in the wild in Scotland and are being re-introduced – at the moment in fenced enclosures – in the Tamar Valley.
But inside Plymouth’s city limits would not seem, on the face of it, to be the right place for a family of beavers. Yet the dam-building mammals, once native to the UK but wiped out centuries ago through hunting, are to have a home in Plymouth’s Forder Valley as part of a scheme to re-create natural habitats lost after hundreds of trees were chopped down.
The Green Minds project seeks to re-wild urban parks, gardens and verges, introduce a new system of working with partners and crucially, encourage more people from all walks to life, to enjoy the health benefits that our green spaces provide.
Last year, many people raised their concerns about animals along the route for the Forder Valley Link Road losing their homes, with complaints deer and other wildlife would “have nowhere to go”.
Some said their children were also upset over the animal’s homes being “cut down”.
At the time, Plymouth City Council confirmed it would re-create green space and natural habitats that had been lost during the development.
The project is funded thanks to a four million euro grant from the European Regional Development
Fund under their Urban Innovation Actions Programme and includes the University of Plymouth, Real Ideas Organisation, Plymouth College of Art, Devon Wildlife Trust, The Data Place and the National Trust as partners.
The beavers, which are coming from Scotland, will be introduced to a specially-built re-wilding enclosure near Poole Farm with their activity monitored to access how their behaviour and actions reduce flooding and habitats for wildlife further downstream.
It is the first urban release of beavers in the UK.
Although clearly the headline event, the beavers are just a small part of the overall project.
Councillor Sue Dann, cabinet member for street scene and the environment, explained: “Our climate is changing and so must we.
“Through Green Minds, we want to find new ways of working with resident and partners which both compliment and embrace our natural environment.
“Introducing beavers is just a small part of that and we’ve got several other projects coming up in the next few years that make nature matter to the residents of Plymouth.
“If we can look after our people, their mental and physical health, they can help look after our place, our parks and our seas which brings us all together so that we can look after the planet.”
As part of the Green Minds launch, a number of online and virtual activities are set to take place that residents can get involved with.
They include Living Lab which reveals stories of the nature in Central Park through digital technology and takes place today from 10am to 12noon. Drop in to the Meadows Cafe, Central Park to be part of a Covid-secure, socially distant activity.
On Tuesday Eco-Biz offers people the chance to meet the new wave of Plymouth businesses restoring nature. An online event will be held on October 20 from 11am-12noon. Go to realideas.org/event/eco-bizmeeting-plymouths-green-minds/