Unique Hideaways joins a Beaver Walk with Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Leading the way in wild conservation, Cornwall Wildlife Trust has long championed the reintroduction of beavers into Cornwall’s natural landscapes and beyond.

Once widespread throughout Europe, beavers became extinct in the UK in the 16th century due to hunting. Today, their return to carefully chosen locations is a wonderful step forward, both for this keystone species and the amazing work they do to restore our native habitats and waterways. At Woodland Valley Farm, the family includes two adults, a teen, and a new fluffy kit.

A plantation woodland once woven with a narrow stream along Nankilly water, the reserve today is a picture of flourishing wetland covered with glistening pools, ponds, and watercourses. All the result of the beavers’ ingenuity, it is an ever-changing tableau of natural engineering, with dams regularly constructed that alter the shape of the landscape.

Inviting visitors to learn all about the vital role of beavers in the UK’s natural spaces, Cornwall Wildlife Trust hosts regular Beaver Walk experiences from spring to autumn. Held at Woodland Valley Farm, the walks weave around the site’s enclosed 5-acre reserve and take place at dusk when the nocturnal beavers start to become active.

Following a wooden boardwalk around the reserve, we could see the work of the beavers at almost every turn, from gnawed tree trunks and woody dams to the flowing waterways of the once tiny stream. Overhead, a barn owl made an ethereal appearance as it gracefully emerged from the leafy canopies above, while bats flitted about in displays of aerial artistry.

Not just impressive, but the activity of these industrious beavers has an enormous number of wider benefits, including:

• creating more diverse wetland habitats
• increasing carbon sequestration
• regulating the flow of waterways
• improving drought resilience
• reducing flooding risks
• creating natural firebreaks
• improving the quality of water
• boosting biodiversity

Significantly increasing biodiversity, the positive impact of beavers on Woodland Valley Farm alone has been amazing. Impacting everything from the tiniest plankton (five times as many are found in beaver ponds) to the creation of three whole new streams, the results have been fantastic.

Further advocates include the ten new bird species recorded onsite since the beavers’ introduction, as well as three new mammal species: water shrew, pole cat, and harvest mouse. Greater fish diversity and size have been observed, as well as a 28% increase in invertebrate species. From the littlest to the largest, flora and fauna are thriving here.

As well as seeing the incredible work at play, the highlight of our Beaver Walk was, of course, the sighting of one of the reserve’s resident beavers. Quietly emerging at dusk from its lodge, the beautiful mammal treated us all to agile demonstrations of its swimming abilities, as well as a musical deconstruction of a branch.

As the last of the sunlight faded and we made our way back to base, we departed the reserve feeling totally inspired by the work of Cornwall Wildlife Trust in championing these unrivalled eco engineers. It truly is amazing what can be achieved when you allow nature to take its course and how the results can positively impact everyone.

Above all, it reinforces the importance of preserving as much space as possible for ecosystems to thrive and for wilderness to remain exactly that - wild.