(C) David Parkyn
Event details
Date
About the event
The Avon and Somerset Frome has probably the third largest wild beaver population in England. There are also records of beaver activity elsewhere across Somerset: some we know are from established populations but others have not yet been verified as coming from either settled families or a beaver that was just passing through. Beavers may be more widespread than we realise if sightings or signs haven’t been recorded. The lack of reporting might be a good sign as they clearly aren’t causing any problems if we haven’t noticed them…!
But knowing where they are would bring so many benefits. We could celebrate their presence with more opportunities for people to (safely and responsibly) see beaver territories and, if they are really lucky, a beaver! We might be able to predict where beavers will disperse to next and work with communities who might want extra advice. Additionally, being able to evidence where we have beavers could make it easier to get funding to provide even more support and engagement opportunities to enable local people to live alongside beavers and allow beaver recovery.
To take part, you will need to attend a webinar at 6pm on 19 March and then, at a time to suit you on Sunday 6 April, go to your designated sample site(s), get your sample(s), and send it/them back to the eDNA Consultancy. The amazing team there will work their magic on those samples and produce a report based on the data you helped gather.
Booking
Price
Thanks to generous support from the Ashby Will Trust and Fairfield Trust, we can offer this amazing opportunity for free. However, the kits are expensive so we kindly request that if you need to cancel you let us know no more than 48hrs after the webinar so we can offer the kit to someone else.Additional booking information
Locations will be carefully selected to make sure we get the most comprehensive idea of where beavers are, have recently been, or may be in the county. This will also involve obtaining land owner consent. Therefore, please help us by sticking to our sample points. This will also help you avoid getting into trouble for trespassing!If you would like to do the survey on 6 April but are not available for the webinar on 19 March, please contact alicia.hallatt@somersetwildlife.org.
If you would like to do the survey but are not available on 6 April then we are really sorry but you will not be able to take part this time. This is because all samples need to be taken on the same day to reduce risk of double-counting or missing beavers. However, we would really encourage you to continue following our Events and Volunteering pages in case there are other opportunities you can get involved in in future.