Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. (Well, slightly exaggerated anyway.) 20 days ago I fell while doing something very unimpressive and broke both the bones in my calf and some in my ankle. I wish I could tell you I was doing something brave or exotic at the time, like rescuing a kitten from a flash flood event, but alas no. I was just getting ready to sit down at my desk and, big surprise, write about beavers. But fate had other plans for me.
With all the breaking I was referred for surgery but not right away because everything needed to stop swelling, so I was in brace for two weeks and then went for some bionic surgery where many pieces of hardware were used to put Humpty Dumpty together again. Two weeks later I had healed enough to be fit with a cast which allowed partial weight bearing. And that was Wednesday. No walking until May 1st.
Jon and Bodie
So I am currently practicing standing and pivoting and transferring From bed to chair. It is harder work than it should be and all the stormy weather means my skilled nursing facility has lost power three nights. Jon and Bodie have both come to visit and I have my iPad to stay up on beaver news of course.
Thank goodness Rusty and Bob have stepped in and so valiantly filled in for me. There is so much going on we need to know about. Thanks guys, thanks patient reader(s), and god willing I’ll be back in my own home in a week or so and see you all at the beaver festival.
For a bit of Martinez Beaver Festival nostalgia I offer this clip from when my wife Jane and I visited in 2015.
Credit: Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, David Ljungberg
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a new method that can easily purify contaminated water using a cellulose-based material. This discovery could have implications for countries with poor water treatment technologies and combat the widespread problem of toxic dye discharge from the textile industry.
Clean water is a prerequisite for our health and living environment, but far from a given for everyone. According to the World Health Organization, WHO, there are currently over two billion people living with limited or no access to clean water.
This global challenge is at the center of a research group at Chalmers University of Technology, which has developed a method to easily remove pollutants from water. The group, led by Gunnar Westman, Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry focuses on new uses for cellulose and wood-based products and is part of the Wallenberg Wood Science Center.
The researchers have built up solid knowledge about cellulose nanocrystals—and this is where the key to water purification lies. These tiny nanoparticles have an outstanding adsorption capacity, which the researchers have now found a way to utilize.
“We have taken a unique holistic approach to these cellulose nanocrystals, examining their properties and potential applications. We have now created a biobased material, a form of cellulose powder with excellent purification properties that we can adapt and modify depending on the types of pollutants to be removed,” says Gunnar Westman.
Absorbs and breaks down toxins
In a study recently published in the scientific journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, the researchers show how toxic dyes can be filtered out of wastewater using the method and material developed by the group. The research was conducted in collaboration with the Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur in India, where dye pollutants in textile industry wastewater are a widespread problem.
The treatment requires neither pressure nor heat and uses sunlight to catalyze the process. Gunnar Westman likens the method to pouring raspberry juice into a glass with grains of rice, which soak up the juice to make the water transparent again.
“Imagine a simple purification system, like a portable box connected to the sewage pipe. As the contaminated water passes through the cellulose powder filter, the pollutants are absorbed and the sunlight entering the treatment system causes them to break down quickly and efficiently. It is a cost-effective and simple system to set up and use, and we see that it could be of great benefit in countries that currently have poor or non-existent water treatment,” he says.
“Going from discharging completely untreated water to removing 80% of the pollutants is a huge improvement, and means significantly less destruction of nature and harm to humans. In addition, by optimizing the pH and treatment time, we see an opportunity to further improve the process so that we can produce both irrigation and drinking water. It would be fantastic if we can help these industries to get a water treatment system that works, so that people in the surrounding area can use the water without risking their health,” he says.
Can be used against other types of pollutants
Gunnar Westman also sees great opportunities to use cellulose nanocrystals for the treatment of other water pollutants than dyes. In a previous study, the research group has shown that pollutants of toxic hexavalent chromium, which is common in wastewater from mining, leather and metal industries, could be successfully removed with a similar type of cellulose-based material. The group is also exploring how the research area can contribute to the purification of antibiotic residues.
This is what beaver poop looks like… a mini sawdust snowball. This beaver poop is special though because this beaver poop is out of the water. Beavers almost always poop in the water, usually within the very ponds where they spend most of their time.
It may not be nanocrystal cellulose but it’s twice chewed and filters water real well!
We’ve been cleaning water for a long time but in Iowa some of us figured that we better start farming willow before there was nothing left to eat except corn!
Walking sticks? Forgoing a bit of bark today for a whole willow in a few years is just the sensible thing to do when humans keep whacking down your favorite food! Watch the whole video though. It’s good!
As the Beaver colony thrived so did the new wildlife coming to live at the Beaver Pond
Deer climbing over the main Beaver Dam
Muskrat
Mink on top of the Beaver Lodge
Mink (three swimming in the Beaver Pond)
Kit (when young stayed fairly close to the Beaver Lodge)
Three deer swimming thru the Beaver Pond and climbing over the main dam (Deer need to stay in the creek which allows them to go under a bridge that carries heavy car traffic)
Should you ever wish to travel back to the times of the Tudors in London, you’ll probably notice significantly more folks on horseback and rows of half-timbered houses. It also will beam you to a time where beavers could be seen scuttling around riverbanks, doing their dam thing.
Sadly, the rodents were eventually hunted to extinction for their fur and meat, but after more than 400 years, it looks like the boys beavers are back in town.
Come this Autumn, London will have its first beaver habitat that’s accessible to the public, when Paradise Fields in Greenford welcomes a breeding pair, who will arrive alongside their kits (infants).
It comes—handily, on World Rewilding Day!—as part of major plans to rewild London, with conservation groups receiving nearly £40,000 in funding from City Hall to create this habitat for beavers.
Canal boots and footbridge near Paradise Fields in Greenford (Image: PawelByl, Shutterstock)
Eventually, this area will become a ‘beaver safari’ for visitors to view the rodents, who are known for their vegetarian diet and their dam-building prowess. It is hoped that this skill will be useful to quell flooding in England made worse by climate change.
Beaver enthusiasts may recall some talk of beavers arriving in London last year as part of rewilding plans, and they were, in fact, introduced in Enfield. Sadly, the male beaver – who was named Justin Beaver (!) and arrived alongside his partner, Sigourney (!!) – passed away due to natural causes three months into the rewilding scheme.
A second beaver is said to have been welcomed at Forty Hall farm in north London, though Paradise Fields in Greenford will welcome more beavers as part of this first ‘beaver safari’ later this year. This safari is part of a new wetland planned in Ealing by Citizen Zoo, Ealing Wildlife Group, Ealing Council and Friends of Horsenden Hill.
In a press release, Nick Swallow, Citizen Zoo Fundraising Operations Officer, said: “Across Europe and North America, beavers are known to thrive alongside urban communities.
“…We hope to challenge the perceptions of Londoners and demonstrate how London too, can embrace these ecosystem engineers as we strive for a healthier, wilder future in which our Capital can become a leader in urban rewilding, which will greatly benefit not only wildlife populations but local communities too.”
“We’re cleaning up our city, re-establishing lost species and reconnecting people and nature as we build a greener, fairer city for all Londoners.”
Cliff Samson has a love-hate relationship with his “neighbours” along Pigeon Creek.
“Behind my property here, I’ve got a nice pond creek that’s running all year, and I’ve got all kinds of animals and whatnot for the past, probably seven years.”
Then one day in the past few years, his “neighbours” moved in … or more precisely, beavers began to build homes and dams on the creek, and according to Samson, there are some good points of having these industrious critters nearby.
“What ends up happening is that there’s a natural waterfall down at the other end and in the summer months, when it’s dry, there’s no water coming over that. Without the beaver dam at this end, all my water would drain out, and I would basically have a marsh behind my house with no water in it. But because of the beaver dam, it keeps water here all the time. And as a result, I’ve got wildlife here all the time.”
While the beavers do allow Samson and his family to enjoy regular visits by various wildlife caused by the flowing water, the situation does come with some overflow issues.
According to the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, it is illegal to damage or destroy a beaver dam unless specifically exempted through the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, such as for the removal of dams to protect private property.
“When a landowner elects to remove a beaver dam, the landowner or agent must exercise extreme caution to prevent downstream flooding, damage to natural habitats and property damage,” said Amanda Vincent, resource management co-ordinator for the ministry.
So what should a property owner do if they spot a beaver dam on their property that could cause infrastructure damage?
The ministry said property owners can make the area uninviting for beavers by planting vegetation that beavers don’t like, such as elderberry, ninebark and twinberry; wrapping individual trees in metre-high, galvanized welded wire fencing, hardware cloth or multiple layers of chicken wire; or painting tree trunks with a sand and paint mix to protect trees from beaver damage.
One can also hire an experienced trapper or wildlife technician to properly remove the beavers from the region. [But we’ll be back!]
In cases of flooding due to a blocked waterway or culvert, some experts recommend using a beaver deceiver, a structure that utilizes a plastic culvert and heavy-duty fencing installed in the beaver dam, allowing water to drain to a lower level.
Again there is little current beaver news beyond the annual pseudo scatological crap about vanilla flavoring. There is though some news from the creator and longtime maintainer of this blog! 
Dragging a treat back to the lodge
River Otter pups play rough
