The week was coordinated by UK rewilding pioneer Derek Gow and led on the ground by Bavarian beaver legend Gerhard Schwab, who has been a leading figure in beaver management for the last few decades. Our mission: to reintroduce beavers into the urban oasis of Paradise Fields, showcasing how these magnificent mammals can thrive alongside people, just as they do in urban landscapes across North America and Europe (including Bavaria). We are incredibly excited to be working with them on the Ealing Beaver Project-an initiative in collaboration with the Ealing Wildlife Group, Friends of Horsenden Hill, and Ealing Council (supported by the Beaver Trust & the Mayor of London). The group has led some incredible community-driven conservation projects across West London, from the reintroduction of harvest mice to installing barn owls and swift boxes and setting up a live video feed to an active peregrine nest on Ealing Hospital (coincidentally the chicks hatched during the week's beaver adventure, something which gave much entertainment during the minibus journeys from site to site). My adventure into the world of German beavers was sparked by a conversation with Sean McCormack, the visionary founder of the Ealing Wildlife Group. However, I sat in this mini oasis reflecting on a week of fascinating travel across Bavaria meeting politicians, farmers, water companies and conservationists all who have embraced the presence of the beaver and the great benefits living alongside them can bring. However, the cacophony of wild sounds is suddenly interrupted by the roar of a 747 overhead, after all, I am sitting in the grounds of Munich Airport! I have never known such an abundance of life to exist on the grounds of an international airport terminal, and I am sure many in the UK would look at me in disbelief if I told them beavers could thrive in such a location. As the clouds part, the sun beats down on the emergent vegetation and an eruption of marsh frogs calls fill the air the abundance and profusion of life is incredible. As I gaze over a castor-created wetland, swallows dart above plucking insects from the warm air and a pair of kestrels hover in search of the small mammals which abound in the tussocky grasslands that line the beaver pools. My thumb glides over the tooth-shaped rivets in the bark of a beaver-felled crack willow.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |