In October 2023, the Ealing Beaver Project introduced a family of beavers to Paradise Fields in west London — the first in several centuries.
The unique rewilding project is the joint effort of the Ealing Wildlife Group, Ealing Council, Friends of Horsenden and Citizen Zoo – the same organisation that brought water voles to the Hogsmill River in 2018.
Following the success of the scheme in Kingston, the Ealing Wildlife Group thought about how they could replicate a similar plan in their borough.
“We realised very early on that what water voles really need is healthy freshwater ecosystems that are open and light-filled,” said Dr Sean McCormack, who led the beaver-reintroduction project.
He added: “We kind of had a lightbulb moment that beavers, which we got rid of 400 years ago in Britain, are actually the keystone species for a lot of our wildlife that’s in trouble”.
One year on, the beavers have demonstrated their impressive environmental value, and the team of volunteers have witnessed a boost in biodiversity.
Why beavers?
Beavers work by coppicing trees with their large front teeth. They redistribute the logs and branches in underwater dams, which allow them to control water levels in wetland areas.
Within just days of their arrival, the beavers in Ealing had built their first dam, which is now part of a network of about seven or eight onsite.
By bringing down trees and allowing more sunlight into the space, the beavers have created a more diverse ecosystem.
As the team expected, with fresher, healthier wetlands, comes a boost to plant and animal life.
McCormack said that the team had “been doing a lot of monitoring of biodiversity before the beavers arrived and after, and this year alone we’ve had two new bat species recorded onsite”.
Last August, volunteers discovered that two kits had been born – the first baby beavers born in London in over 400 years.
McCormack said: “We were absolutely ecstatic to find there was kits, they’ve done fantastically well.”
The project received funding from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has been vocal about his plans to clean up London’s waterways.
Khan said: “I want to turbo-charge the restoration of nature to London’s rivers and waterways, working with partners across the capital to spearhead the return of a whole host of species – from water voles, to eels, and the return of otters”.
The beavers have also proven successful in mitigating flood risks.
After heavy rainfall last month, the team noted that the area downstream of Paradise Fields did not flood, as it had done in previous years.
This is because the beavers hold more water onsite, and through their network of dams, can release it slowly into the urban environment.
The Ealing Beaver Project highlights the importance of nature-based solutions to both rewilding efforts, and to environmental challenges such as urban flooding.
