Eager Beavers Could Help Tackle Impact Of Heatwaves

The return of beavers to the UK is helping to protect the environment from the impacts of hot, dry weather, the National Trust says.

- Harry Cockburn

As millions of people are subject to hosepipe bans, the trust has warned the record dry spell is taking a heavy toll on the landscapes, watercourses, plants and animals across its estates. But in areas where beavers have been reintroduced to the environment, the impact of the sweltering heat appears to be considerably reduced. The creatures, which were hunted to extinction in the UK over 400 years ago, were reintroduced to the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate in Somerset in 2020.

The animals have a unique ability to re-engineer landscapes to boost biodiversity, improve water quality, and slow down the passage of water on a large scale, in turn reducing flood risks, recreating lost wetlands during dry spells and maintaining water supplies. At the Holnicote Estate, wetland habitats are still thriving, despite low river levels and record dry weather.