Following the licensed release of two pairs of beavers at Willington in 2021, true to form, the beavers have been busy ever since, with two more kits sighted this month.
Within ten months of release, one of the original pairs bred, and the first beaver kits were born in 2022. Since then, the family of beavers has welcomed six more kits and continue to restore this incredible wetland habitat, reshaping the landscape around them.
Living up to their reputation as nature’s 'ecosystem engineers', the beavers have coppiced trees and shrubs, dammed smaller watercourses, and dug extensive ‘beaver canal’ systems. In doing so, they have created a more diverse and dynamic environment for themselves with enormous benefits to other wildlife as well.
Benefiting from the restored wetland are red listed species such as bittern, which bred here for the first time in 2022, lapwing, greenfinch, curlew and woodcock. Mallard, moorhen, great white egret and greylag goose, currently all on the amber species list, together with otters, water voles, harvest mice, kingfishers, frogs, toads, dragonflies, and pike have also been recorded.
Overall species diversity continues to improve year on year – with daily species counts now twice as high as before the beavers arrived, with beaver lodges and beaver-felled trees ranking among the top five habitats on the reserve.
Beyond supporting biodiversity, the wetter conditions created by the beavers’ natural activity are helping to lock in carbon and improve the site’s resilience to climate change, highlighting the critical role species reintroductions can play in restoring and sustaining healthy ecosystems, in line with the Trust’s wider strategic nature recovery goals.
Willington has long been a place for people to enjoy nature. Since the beavers arrived, many have come to try and spot these elusive creatures, but their impact reaches beyond those who can visit in person.
Green space is well known for its ability to improve wellbeing for hospital patients. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust provided the next best thing to physically being out in nature by streaming the Willington beaver experience on screens through Derby Hospital’s Wildscapes Channel.
Now, thanks to 360-degree video recordings, the Trust is making the experience even more accessible through immersive virtual reality headsets, used at events and community engagement activities.
