Trust celebrates beaver reintroduction success

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has hailed the success of a project, which saw the reintroduction of beavers in the county.

A year ago, the trust released two pairs of beavers at its Willington Wetlands Nature Reserve, 800 years after they last inhabited Derbyshire.

Since then, the beavers have been busy. One pair have since bred, and the first beaver kits were sighted in July this year.

Beavers are often referred to as “ecosystem engineers” and the beavers at Willington have been living up to their reputation, making changes to their habitat, coppicing trees and shrub species, damming smaller water courses, and have even started to dig “beaver canal” systems.

According to the trust, these activities are helping to create a diverse and dynamic wetland, which will benefit other wildlife, including otters, water voles, kingfisher, egret, frogs, toads, dragonflies and fish.

Henry Richards, living landscape officer at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: “This has been such an exciting year for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s vision for a wilder Derbyshire.

“The two pairs are both thriving in their new habitat and when the first beaver kits were sighted back in July, we were absolutely delighted, not just because it was good news for the reintroduction of a species, but also because it’s great news for the reintroduction of an entire ecosystem that has been lost here in Derbyshire.

“These beaver families were introduced to help us shape, improve and care for our wetland area in Willington and in time they could play a crucial role responding to the impacts of climate change.

“We look forward to watching how these incredible animals continue to transform this wetland habitat, and to hopefully welcoming more kits in the future.”