The Beaver Effect
Otherwise known as ‘the ripple effect’. As a keystone species, beavers have a huge impact on their environment. Through dams, ponds and canals, they restore the wetlands and complex river systems that provide habitat for a huge range of wildlife. For example, beavers’ tree coppicing stimulates plant growth. This attracts insects which in turn provide a food source for amphibians, birds and small mammals. Beaver ponds are cool and often deep, perfect for juvenile fish, and the shallow, gravel beds in braided channels within beaver wetlands offer a vital habitat for spawning fish, such as salmon and trout. Bats, otters, water voles, reptiles and birds are just some examples of the wildlife that benefit from the mosaic of slower-flowing water and diverse habitats. Research has shown that beaver ponds may host 50% more unique species than other wetlands and that beaver-engineered habitats increase the abundance of certain bird species up to 80 metres away.
Individual action is collective, and collective action is individual
The thing is, you’re not really taking action by yourself. It sounds like I’m cheating here but by definition, collective action can only ever be the accumulation of lots of individual choices and activities. All our actions feed into each other and if we want to make a difference we have to contribute to the total. As a fundraiser, my default activity is donating to environmental charities working on the ground, and I’m lucky to be able to do that. As a fundraiser for Beaver Trust, I’m obviously going to suggest making a donation towards restoring beavers to regenerate our landscapes. We’re not a membership organisation and our generous supporters make one-off and monthly donations. Last year, donations of £100 or less made up 61% of the total amount donated through our website. The whole total means that we can do more to restore beavers to Britain. Every single one of those donors is valued and enables our work.
“I made a difference to that one”
Have you heard the story about the boy throwing starfish back into the sea? There were hundreds of them washed up on the shore and he was picking them up one by one to return them to the water. He was approached by someone who said: “What’s the point? There are hundreds of starfish; you can’t make a difference”. The boy threw the next starfish and replied: “I made a difference to that one”. At Beaver Trust, we have just three of our colleagues living in Scotland, where the wild beaver population is growing. Sometimes those beavers are in conflict with landowners and at risk of lethal control; each time one of my colleagues moves a beaver from a site where it’s causing a problem to a site where it’s welcome, it makes a difference to that one.
