Now this is the kind of article that doesn’t come along every day. It’s written about England but is really talking to every single community that unexpectedly rediscovers beavers in their midst. Not to be way more self-focused than usual, but it could have been written each word for magical word about Martinez. But I guess you knew that, right?
Potential psychological benefits of nature enrichment through the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) to Britain: A narrative literature review
(Okay replace the word “reintroduction” with the word “discovery” and replace castor fiber with castor canadensis and replace to Britain with to Martinez and you get the point.)
It starts by noting that biodiversity is decreasing in the UK (and everywhere else) and that people are feeling more and more stressed out and hopeless about the environment (in England and everywhere else) and that reintroducing beavers is a way to show that we CAN take action that makes things better on a grand scale.
Beavers could act as a ‘super restorer’, facilitating psychological as well as ecological restoration through a beneficial synergy of effects. Through their eco-engineering activities, beavers increase biodiversity at the landscape scale and facilitate habitat restoration and creation (creating a mosaic of green and blue space, and a sense of wilderness) all of which can increase the psychological well-being of visitors.
All of these things happened in Martinez. All of them. And I will add one more. The sense of unity and community that arises from noticing wildlife improve with other neighbors and strangers who are noticing it too.
Their creation of biodiverse natural settings offers the possibility of increased nature connectedness and nature-based psychological restoration amongst some of the human population of the UK. Beaver reintroduction may represent a partial antidote to ‘shifting baseline syndrome’ and beavers could act as a flagship species and become a totem of hope as eco-anxiety increases.
Beavers were a flagship species in Martinez. They meant to us that wildlife matters that even our constant disregard for the environment wasn’t enough to stop wildlife AND they showed us in spectacular form that a community rising up could overcome city leaders and make a difference for the better.
This is why the story captured the imagination for media across the country and indeed across the world. Our small experience with urban wildlife became a much larger experience of regeneration and hope.
No wonder it changed my life.
Overall psychological benefits of beaver reintroduction likely exceed that of any other single species’ reintroduction or conservation initiative of equivalent cost, and far outweigh the costs of their reintroduction and management.
Yes, Again switch ‘reintroduction’ for ‘tolerance’ and you have the very thing I’ve been writing about for a decade plus. Beavers do more for us than they demand from us. There isn’t any species you can save that matters more. The challenges they cause are far outweigned by the amazingly good things they can do.
After this the article goes through a point by point look at what is damaged and how beavers can help. You should go read the whole thing, but I particularly liked this paragraph:
People with a strong sense of nature connectedness tend to seek out higherbiodiversity (Shanahan et al., 2015) or environments of higher biophilic quality (Berto et al., 2018), but a reciprocal relationship applies, whereby encounteringhigher biodiversity or nature-rich environments may promote greater nature connectedness (Dornhoff et al., 2019; Hamlin & Richardson, 2021; Wyles et al.,2019). More biodiverse ecosystems may be more likely to provoke a sense of place attachment than more ecologically depleted or degraded settings (Horwitz et al.,2001), this being an aspect of nature connectedness (Zylstra, 2014). Higher ratings of nature connectedness are associated with greater and more holistic psychological benefits yielded by biodiversity (McGinlay et al., 2018), while enhancing the perceptual experiences and perceived restorative potential of natural landscapes (Tang et al., 2015).
Did you follow that? People who are more connected emotionally naturally like nature BUT people who are in a more biodiverse natural environment connect more to other humans BECAUSE of their surroundings. I remember a particular woman at the November 7, 2007 meeting who said that she moved to Martinez a few years prior but really hadn’t felt she was part of a community UNTIL the beavers came. Then she felt surrounded by connectedness and really engaged with people. Her comment always stood out in my mind.
As well as potentially providing a sense of belonging to the web of life, beaver engineered landscapes offer a variety of soothing and restorative qualities, which can boost mental health in other ways. When beavers are introduced to a landscape, they create a habitat that includes a patchwork of green and blue space, including water bodies.
Beavers make things look better. And that makes us feel better. How good did you feel at the beaver dam surrounded by wildlife in the rising or setting sun?
Memorable wildlife encounters can promote states of stillness and mindful absorption that can promote a deep sense of well-being that can transcend the initial encounter, resulting in feelings of spiritual fulfilment and psychological health benefits (Curtin, 2009). In addition, time spent being immersed in natural settings observing animal behaviour has been associated with eliciting flow states (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), peak experiences (DeMares & Krycka, 1998), and feelings of wonderment (Bulbeck, 2005). Observations of beavers and their activity where they have been introduced into the wild in England is commonly associated with positive emotional reactions, generating pleasing feelings of excitement, interest and happiness. This suggests that beaver presence could help enhance nature connectedness and the mental health benefits of engaging with nature (Auster et al.,
2020b).
Stillness and mindful absorbtion. Just reading that line made me tear up. It calls to mind so many mornings of watching. Before I knew they mattered. Before they were threatened. Before anybody else was involved. It felt like I was alone at the threshold of wild places and all their secrets were being shared.
The potential benefits of contact with nature for mental well-being has been referred to as a ‘forgotten ecosystem service’ (Summers & Vivian, 2018), and it remains heavily underutilised and undervalued as a mental health intervention (Bratman et al.2019; Maller et al., 2006).
The spaces beavers make inside us to notice and wonder about them is one of their most essential ecosystem services. I love that observation. We are part of the ecosystem. And they are change US too.
Access to nature has been found to buffer children against the impact of stressful life events with little evidence of a ceiling effect or a saturation point pertaining to the benefits of contact with natural settings (Wells & Evans, 2003). This suggests that more nature-enriched landscapes (encompassing higher diversity and abundance of wildlife), may harbour greater potential psychological benefits. Accessible beaver-engineered landscapes offer a host of activities for children and adults alike, affording opportunities for birdwatching and other forms of non-consumptive recreation
Wow. Wow. Suddenly the meaning of 12 beaver festivals all makes so much sense. Suddenly the joyful attention of young faces at the dam make so much sense.
Beavers have the potential to act as a focal or flagship species (Lorimer, 2007),otherwise defined as a social-ecological keystone species, by which appreciation for
them and their activities may act as a vehicle for greater ecological literacy, and help
engender pro-conservation attitudes and behaviours.
Beavers can make us better stewards of the environment. While we notice their impacts we are start understanding our own. This article was specifically writtten for the damaged British countryside but honestly, we have all damaged our countrysides and watching beavers awaken them has the same effect in Denver as it does in Devon.
Through their unrivalled ability to restore ecologically degraded land and create rich wetland environments and enhance biodiversity at the landscape-level, beaver eco-engineering is likely to provide potential for enhancing nature connectedness while offering access to psychologically restorative landscapes to people. Through these combined positive impacts and the sense of hope, pride and potential for reversing shifting baseline syndrome beaver presence may yield in times of growing eco-anxiety, beavers may indeed be considered a ‘super restorer’.
I have zero to add to that sentence. Go read the whole article and share it with everyone you know.
