The Exeter branch of Dunelm, the UK’s leading homeware retailer, has donated gardening supplies to a local Beavers group, helping them to earn their gardening badge.
The Beavers received the gardening equipment after winning a competition that was hosted by the Exeter store’s Community Facebook Group.
Nominated by the local community, the Beavers have now worked onimproving a local garden after receiving a small greenhouse, seven bags of compost and a large bag of bark chips from Dunelm. Readying the garden for spring, the Beavers have also enjoyed planting sunflowers,...
The first beaver activity in an East Devon town has been confirmed.
On 3rd August 2021 a felled apple tree in Millers Way community orchard was reported by a member of the local community. The Devon Wildlife Trust beaver range, Jake Chant inspected the site and confirmed the presence of at least one beaver in the Gissage.
Beavers have been living free in East Devon since 2008 and have been studied as part of Devon Wildlife Trust’s River Otter Beaver Trial since 2015. In August 2020, the UK Government gave permission for Devon’s beavers to stay – a landmark decision and...
The National Trust has announced plans to release Eurasian beavers at two sites in the south of England next spring to help with flood management and to improve biodiversity.
The beaver reintroductions will be the first made by the conservation charity, linking to its ambitions to create priority habitats for nature and to increase the diversity of species and wildlife numbers on the land in its care.
Having once been an important part of the ecosystem, beavers became extinct in the UK in the 16th century due to hunting for their fur, meat and scent glands.
East Devon shoppers have been doing their bit for the River Otter beavers through a local store’s fundraising scheme.
Staff at Roberts, Ottery St Mary’s venerable hardware and homeware shop, set up a ‘book and DVD’ stall in the store, with each item available for a £1 donation. And last month they reached the milestone of £1000 raised for the River Otter Beaver Trial, the Devon Wildlife Trust-led project that is monitoring the beaver population and its effects for the next five years.
Nora, Devon Wildlife Trust’s beaver mascot, visited the shop in Ottery to accept the...
The remarkable story of Devon’s wild beavers goes on with the announcement that the Westcountry rodents have now won a top national award.
Readers of BBC Countryfile Magazine have selected the River Otter Beaver Trial based in East Devon, along with the Scottish Beaver Trial, as their ‘Wildlife Success Story of the Year’ for 2017. The public poll attracted 56,000 votes across its 12 award categories.
The accolade is recognition of the work being done with the East Devon beavers by the charity Devon Wildlife Trust. The beavers are the first wild population of the animals to...
“The chance to make history” is the way that TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is describing a campaign by the Devon Wildlife Trust. The wildlife charity urgently needs to raise a minimum of £100,000 from a crowdfunding campaign to have a chance of securing the future of England’s only wild population of beavers.
The beavers have made their home on the River Otter in East Devon.
After being discovered in 2013 the beavers were originally set to be removed by government officials. However, a partnership led by Devon Wildlife Trust and involving local people and local...
A Devon-based conservation charity is looking for help from the public to suggest names for its new beaver mascot.
The beaver in question is a human-sized beaver costume made to promote the work of Devon Wildlife Trust with England’s only known wild beaver population on the River Otter in East Devon.
The costume, which has striking teeth and tail has been produced with support from South Devon-based Cofton Country Holidays, which is itself a David Bellamy Conservation Award Scheme Gold award winner.
Speaking for Devon Wildlife Trust Steve Hussey said: “We wanted a...
A national charity which aims to improve the quality of life for people and communities in the UK through its work with arts, environmental and community welfare organisations has given a major boost to one of Devon’s most important wildlife projects.
The Peter De Haan Charitable Trust has provided £150,000 of funding to the River Otter Beaver Trial – an East Devon project which is measuring the impact of England’s only breeding population of wild beavers. The funding will be used to support the next three years of the project.
Despite recent news headlines that a local beaver population had ‘disappeared’ from their East Devon home, a local wildlife charity is now claiming that it has evidence that they are very much alive.
In November the BBC reported the concerns of some local people that they had not had sightings of beavers on the River Otter for some weeks.
This ‘disappearance’ was then reported by national newspapers. However, Devon Wildlife Trust has now come forward with evidence which shows that the beavers are still there, although they may have relocated their homes, known as lodges,...
When beavers appeared on the River Otter, most people welcomed their return to Devon.
A similar public response was seen in response to Scottish reintroductions to the rivers Tay and Knapdale. They also sparked a debate about the potential benefits of restoring wildlife.
For example, could beaver dams be a natural way to reduce flood risks?
Could pine marten reintroductions help control unwanted grey squirrel populations? And could peat bog restoration improve drinking water quality?
All of these issues will be explored next week in a national conference in...
