A swan has appeared at the big pond. We go down to have a look; a silhouette across the water; a grey-blue apparition among the flotilla of goosanders and mallards. The sun glitters on the water. Flora and I set about investigating the details around us. Norway spruce cones, half chewed by squirrels, loose pieces of moss, bits of dead grass, sticks covered in lichen. She wants to drop them all in the water, so we carefully negotiate the gorse and squash into the soft ground. Up close, you can see last year’s waterweeds – horsetails and bog bean, about to rebound. A freshwater snail swims along languidly.
Beavers manifestly increase biodiversity. Research done at Bamff in this same pond concluded that the presence of beavers increased aquatic plant species by 33% and beetle species by 26%. The research concluded:
“Put simply: anyone can build a pond – but if you want a really great pond, ask a beaver.”
It was beavers that inspired us to go further. Our efforts at encouraging nature to return before that were not total failures, but nothing had as powerful an affect as the beavers. They completely reimagined our straight, narrow drainage ditches, damming them over and over in tiered ponds, making space for creatures to come into being, to live and grow. A primordial soup.

Beavers play a vital role in progressing Bamff’s ecosystems (Photo by Dave Maric)

The future looks bright (Photo by Dave Maric)
As our deadline fast approaches, we would be thrilled and exceptionally grateful if you helped us to go out with a bang!
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