#426: Nice beaver...

There are wild beavers within 15 minutes of my house.... they are active at Sculthorpe Nature Reserve in Norfolk.

As #COP29 draws to a close in Baku, perhaps it is a good moment to be reminded that despite the complex global politics, there are practical things we can do on the ground here in England. & in acting to build resilience to climate change impacts, we can restore Nature too. pic.twitter.com/YdzbeFyvPC

— Tony Juniper (@TonyJuniper) November 22, 2024

These local initiatives are part of the Beavers and Biodiversity Gain Project.

In September 2019, after a successful application to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, the Trust secured a grant.

The project was in two stages, based at the Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve – Norfolk.

• Creation and reintroduction of Beaver area.
• The diversion of flood water from the Wensum to Hempton Moor, south of the Reserve, and enhancing its wetland habitat (reedbed & ponds).

#391: Meet Twiggy

Four new films look at the work of the Environment Agency to develop natural flood management schemes. 

📢 Announcing our four NEW animated films developed with @envagency to spread the word about natural flood management (NFM) 🎉

Meet Twiggy from the film 'Wood you believe it' below and watch the rest of the films here 👇https://t.co/SRl1IBb4kw

(1/4) pic.twitter.com/bXqQnMekTi

— CumbriaWildlifeTrust (@cumbriawildlife) October 28, 2024

We need to slow the flow.

Storms which cause flooding in homes and businesses have increased in Cumbria in the last decade.

Peatlands hold large amount of water and during periods of high rainfall they can both hold back water and also slow the flow of the water coming off the hills.

Damaged peatlands cannot hold the same amounts of water, and areas that contain drains actually speed up the flow. This means that, during high rainfall events, water isn’t held back and released slowly but flows immediately into rivers, increasing the flooding risk downstream.

Blocking drains slows this run-off and keeps floodwater on the fells for longer.

Check out 'Wood you believe it' and follow the link to see the other films.