Beaver Workshop

Are You Beaver Ready?

This year the government is granting licenses for beaver pen releases in England, and with a number of unlicensed beavers already living in many of our rivers, these dynamic creatures may be coming to a place near you, soon. You may be longing for them, and/or a little worried about how to manage their impacts.

This workshop, hosted by Mark Elliot, an expert in free-living beavers in the UK, is designed for landowners, NGOs, farmers and individuals keen to understand the impacts of beavers on ecosystems, and how and when to manage a beaver site. The workshop will cover the legal status of beavers, their behaviour and ecology, and how to identify signs of beaver presence. It will explain mitigation strategies such as tree protection and the ingenious ‘beaver deceiver’, used in Europe and the US to lower water created by beaver dams to acceptable levels.

Mark draws on his considerable experience overseeing the first government-sanctioned free-living English beavers on the River Otter, where he helped to manage stakeholder conflicts and establish a template for co-existence. He will talk about Beaver Management Groups (often through the Wildlife Trusts) as a way of providing support, and how making space for watercourses is vital in preventing conflicts from arising in the first place by making the landscape more resilient to beaver impacts.

After a presentation and delicious lunch featuring organic Knepp produce, Mark will take you to Knepp’s beaver pen where you’ll see first-hand the impressive engineering achievements of our family of beavers.

Please note that as beavers are nocturnal, you’re highly unlikely to see the beavers themselves. You will, however, see their lodges, tree-felling, coppicing, dams, lawns and channels. Please bring waterproof walking boots or wellies!

9.30am-4pm
£185 per person