It’s summer and we’re all busy planning our vacations. Worth A Dam thought we’d visit England, courtesy of Cheryl Reynolds awesome photo which has traveled the globe via wikipedia for nearly a decade. To be honest, back when we gave Rickipedia this photo to use on his updates we had no idea it would show up in Bavaria or Wales for over a decade. But it’s nice to see its shining face time and time again.
The report published this morning by the Environmental Audit Committee exposed the Government’s knee-jerk reaction to flooding. During the last Parliament funding was cut just before floods, only to be “increased” after the floods. The funding has fluctuated year by year.
The Committee has demanded an action plan from the Government.
Beavers should be part of that plan.
Earlier this year, just one month after floods raged through towns across the UK, a study by scientists at the University of Stirling demonstrated how Scotland’s beavers have mitigated flooding.
Beavers are famous for creating dams with ponds of deep quiet water. One of the many purposes of these dams is to slow the flow of water, to stop beaver homes being washed away. Further downstream, these networks of upstream dams work like big sponges. They provide a slower, steadier flow of water into our towns and lowlands. Our current policy of dredging does the opposite – forcefully deepening and widening riverbeds to provide a faster and at times perilous flow of water into our towns and lowlands.
The water trickling out from beaver habitat is also cleaner, with sediments retained upstream. Just last week the Environmental Audit Committee declared that more action is needed to protect UK soil health. Rewilding these semi-aquatic rodents could help prevent soil erosion.
Beavers also create a variety of habitats for fish (which as herbivores they won’t eat), mitigate dry summers, create ecotourism opportunities, boost plant life and local populations of birds, amphibians, mammals, insects and other animals. They are a win-win-win-win situation.
Vote Beaver.
Of course everyone who walks by my home for the next century will know how WE voted. Mario is almost finished and I could not be happier. I especially love to think that every time the mayor is late for a meeting and decides to block our parking space he will see this staring back at him.
Here’s a closer look at who’ll I’ll be drinking my morning coffee with for the rest of my life.
