As ecosystem engineers, they breathe life into ecosystems, damming up streams to create wetland habitats where wildlife can thrive. In addition to this, the wetland habitats they create are excellent for flood prevention, sequestering carbon and providing water during periods of drought.

After centuries of persecution by humans, beaver numbers are on the rise again right across Europe and North America. While the majority of these are in rural settings, this incredible species is also bouncing back in towns and cities. The most famous example is throughout Bavaria, where an initial release in the 1960s and 1970s into the countryside, combined with years of dedicated work to overcome human-beaver conflict, has led to the population spreading into towns and cities, including Munich itself! Slightly further from home, in Vancouver in 2008, the city’s beaverless ‘Beaver Lake’ had purpose put back into its name when a solo beaver turned up. This individual was soon followed by a second in 2011. Since, a family has thrived in Stanley Park ever since, living happily alongside the city’s 2.5mn residents.

And now, as of 2023, our London Beaver Working Group reintroduced beavers to the capital. There is now a family of beavers living happily in urban Greenford.

London Beaver Working Group

Prior to the reintroduction, we started the London Beaver Working Group, to facilitate collaborative discussion around two individual scenarios:

1. Beavers natural recolonisation of the Capital’s waterways. There are free-living beavers across the country which are expanding fast, and wild populations are as close to London as Kent. Estimates suggest they can travel from 8-12 kilometres to find a new territory! So the possibility of beavers’ natural recolonising London’s waterways is not out of the question. By bringing together different stakeholders, we started the conversation around a strategy for this scenario and how to prepare for it effectively.
2. A pro-active reintroduction of beavers to the Capital. We identified Paradise Fields as the perfect location for a beaver reintroduction project in London. A key part of this was to assess both the ecological and political landscapes of the site.

What does the London Beaver Working Group do now?

The London Beaver Working Group continues to meet to discuss the progress of our reintroduction in Paradise Fields. The working group is comprised of:

1. Core Group – Organisations with the agency and capacity to actively drive forward the London beaver agenda. This can also include those who are proactively investigating potential introductions.
2. Wider Working Group – An inclusive group of organisations and people interested in contributing to the beaver agenda in London. This will work to advise the direction of travel of the group, facilitating knowledge sharing and collaborative working.
3. Public Forum – This group is focused on community engagement to help raise awareness of beavers in London and to actively educate and engage with the public.

We are very excited about the project’s prospects now that the reintroduction has been such a success. We have seen the project to have huge benefits in terms of community engagement and education.

The benefits of the beaver reintroduction so far:

Since the Ealing release many benefits have been documented:

– The beavers have created wetlands that support a huge array of other wildlife.

– Reduced flooding at Greenford station has been documented. This was previously a hotspot for flooding in periods of heavy rainfall.

– An increase in community cohesion and reduction in anti-social behaviour recorded on site.

What next?

– We are working to start Riverfly (RMI) monitoring to assess the implications of beavers on the water quality of at Paradise Fields.

– In 2025, we have further volunteer engagement days planned at Paradise Fields as well as site tours to see the progress that the beavers have made!

If you would like to get involved, head over to our volunteer webpage.

You could also contribute to this project by making a donation or becoming a member today!

Lastly, if you have any sites that could support beavers in London, then we’d also love to hear from you.