Earthrise Al-Jazeera

I like this snippet of beaver wisdom as much as any I’ve ever seen. Very clear understanding of permaculture and the importance of beavers to water storage. Clear language about keystone species. An obvious explanation about why we should do better. And beavers kissing at the end. It gives me a feeling of inevitability about beavers in the UK.

Of course, Derek is a little rough on those poor beavers, picking them up by the tail (which Sherri says you should never do) but remember he’s a Cornish Farmer in a land that has treated beavers much worse. And he bungles the native American quote – I think it was probably a groovy ecologist in the 70’s who coined the term ‘Earth’s Kidneys”, because I’m pretty sure the tribal nations didn’t have autopsies or pathologists. Heck, we didn’t even know what kidneys did until the late 1700’s, so I doubt natives named a beaver based on its similar function.

He meant to say “Native Americans called them the Sacred Center.”

Which they are. But we understand. And beavers are on Al-Jazeera. This means we’re past the “ignoring” stage an onto the fight! (First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight with you. Then you win.) Nice work Derek! You and your very-cornish neighbor did a perfectly cast job explaining how beavers shape the landscape. Since Jon went to school in Cornwall he practically recognized both of you, and the Perryman family hails from just to the west in St. Austel, so I can tell we are going to be great friends. You are the perfect man for the job of bringing beavers back to England.

You bet your sweet alif they are! Check out the episode four of Earthrise.

Earthrise: Beaver Farmer

An English farmer sets out to restore the country’s wetlands, with help from nature’s most experienced engineers.

Wetlands are one of the world’s most valuable ecosystems; as well as providing a rich habitat for plants and animals, they also store carbon and help reduce floods by soaking up excess rain. But around the world, vast swathes of them are being destroyed, and in England alone, 90 percent of wetlands have disappeared in the last 400 years.

Now English farmer Derek Gow has a novel plan to restore these precious habitats – bring back beavers, the massive semi-aquatic rodents that once played a crucial role in shaping the British countryside. Using their sharp teeth, beavers chop down small trees and branches to build dams across streams, creating a large network of pools and channels to live in, which form a brand new wetland.

Sylvia Rowley travels to Devon, UK, to see what nature’s construction workers can do, and to help release a pair of beavers into their new home on Derek’s farm.

I hope this particular episode is available on the web once it airs, because this is definately news we can use. I’ll be excited to see it in person. You will remember that Derek is the farmer in Devon (Southwest England) that has been pretty outspoken for beavers. I found out he and Duncan Ramsay (Free beavers on the Tay in Scotland) are old friends so we are working the country from both ends, (so to speak). I can’t wait to see this particular work from the beaver lobby and am excited to see this making the rounds.

And just to show you I’m a trustworthy source, here’s some feedback about yesterday’s Clemson Calamity:

Mike Callahan Heidi is right on about the historic importance of the Clemson Pond Leveler and that it rightfully has been relegated to the proverbial shelf as had her original personal computer or the Model T. Flexible Pond Levelers and Castor Masters work so much better, last longer, and are much cheaper and easier to install. Coincidentally today I am going back to the Norwottuck Rail Trail, the site of my first and only Clemson Pond Leveler installation in 1998 to adjust a Flexible Pond Leveler pipe that successfully replaced that CPL.