Ladock Beavers

On Good Friday (which was also International Beaver Day!), Chris Jones of Woodland Valley Farm gave a fascinating talk on Our Future with Beavers in Probus Village Hall.

In 2017, two adult beavers were released into a fenced enclosure on Chris’s land – and the Cornwall Beaver Project was under way. Beavers are a remarkable tool in the area of flood prevention: the way they build dams and dig water channels allows the land around them to hold more water so that, during heavy rain, the water doesn’t flow as quickly into nearby rivers.

Since their introduction, the Ladock beavers have built seven dams and created several ponds in thier 5-acre enclosure, and there are now four stream channels where there was once just one. Wildlife has proliferated, too: 11 out of the 13 species of bat found in Cornwall have been seen in the area, as well as 17 species of dragonfly and a number of rare birds, including water rails and green sandpipers.

If you missed Chris’s talk, it will be repeated as an online event hosted by Ladock Parish Wildlife Group on Wednesday 11th May at 7.30 pm.