DEVON WILDLIFE TRUST
Could beavers help slow flash floods? A reintroduction project in England shows how their dams can hold back water
Eurasian beavers returned to the UK after centuries. Then came a five-year trial that reshaped their future, along with the English landscape. Dive into the story to find out more.
In 2025, British naturalist Chris Packham helped restore 55 acres in Devon with 3,500 native trees; a year later, wetlands, wildfowl, waders and otters had transformed the former pasture
A rewilding project in Downicary, Devon, has transformed a plain field into a vibrant wetland. This initiative has successfully attracted diverse wildlife, including otters and kingfishers to the area. Meanwhile, Bowyers Wood in East Sussex has seen the return of beavers after four centuries. Earth moving at Bowyers Wood created new habitats for reptiles and small mammals.
In 1972, English photographer bought a remote island in south Atlantic Ocean with rats. Today, 2 million seabird pairs and 5 penguin species call it home
In 1972, English naturalist and photographer Ian Strange bought New Island in the Falklands with Roddy Napier, finding it overgrazed and affected by introduced rats, rabbits and pigs. Strange transformed its future by promoting conservation, research and wildlife tourism. Today, the island is a Nature Reserve and Important Bird Area, home to 2 million breeding pairs of thin-billed prions, five penguin species and the world's largest striated caracara population.
