1 00:00:07,980 --> 00:00:10,869 KATE MARTIN: Hello and welcome to the National Trust podcast. 2 00:00:11,029 --> 00:00:15,359 I'm Kate Martin Lead Ranger at Formby in Liverpool. And today 3 00:00:15,369 --> 00:00:19,000 I'm revisiting the Holnicote Estate in Exmoor National Park. 4 00:00:19,290 --> 00:00:23,149 I was last there two years back to explore a habitat that hasn't 5 00:00:23,159 --> 00:00:26,250 been seen in the UK for over 400 years. 6 00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:29,840 And today, I'll be finding out how the charismatic inhabitants 7 00:00:29,850 --> 00:00:32,549 have been getting on and learning about a heart warming 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:41,659 surprise just in time for Christmas. 9 00:00:41,659 --> 00:00:45,720 Exmoor National Park occupies almost 700 square kilometres of 10 00:00:45,729 --> 00:00:49,419 rugged Moorland and shingle beaches to the north of this 11 00:00:49,430 --> 00:00:53,159 area is the Holnicote estate, a 32 square kilometre National 12 00:00:53,169 --> 00:00:56,959 Trust managed segment of this parkland, its coastline, ancient 13 00:00:56,970 --> 00:01:00,220 woodland and network of rivers, make it a wonderland for the 14 00:01:00,229 --> 00:01:01,569 outdoor enthusiast. 15 00:01:02,119 --> 00:01:04,599 The area that I'm walking through at the moment is sort of 16 00:01:04,610 --> 00:01:08,269 a natural bowl where you've got these rolling hills. So there's 17 00:01:08,279 --> 00:01:11,300 a real sort of abundance of natural features here. But 18 00:01:11,309 --> 00:01:14,680 ironically, it's some of these natural features that contribute 19 00:01:14,690 --> 00:01:17,279 to the climate concerns that have plagued this area for 20 00:01:17,290 --> 00:01:18,040 decades. 21 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,599 NIGEL HESTER: I'm Nigel Hester and I live within the Holnicote 22 00:01:24,610 --> 00:01:28,050 estate near Allerford. It's a tiny Hamlet of about six 23 00:01:28,059 --> 00:01:33,769 buildings, lovely cottages as you can see and it's a, a 24 00:01:33,779 --> 00:01:34,879 perfect place to live. 25 00:01:36,139 --> 00:01:39,199 There are two river catchments here. The Horner rises high on 26 00:01:39,209 --> 00:01:43,709 the moor and the Aller comes down the vale behind us and they 27 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,989 both meet. Today, actually, they're flying nice and gently 28 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,089 and it's all very lovely. 29 00:01:52,510 --> 00:01:55,849 Get a heavy downfall of rain and the water just comes off these 30 00:01:55,860 --> 00:01:59,970 steep hills. You just get a torrent coming down. It's 31 00:01:59,980 --> 00:02:02,620 looking to spill out and it spills out into the villages, 32 00:02:02,629 --> 00:02:03,639 flooding the cottages. 33 00:02:05,559 --> 00:02:09,279 The worst one I remember was back in 2000 when most of the 34 00:02:09,289 --> 00:02:11,660 cottages in Allerford and Bossington got flooded out. 35 00:02:13,229 --> 00:02:16,899 But I remember one cottage, literally that the sewer burst 36 00:02:16,910 --> 00:02:20,570 and all the effluent came up into the house completely ruined 37 00:02:20,580 --> 00:02:23,660 the whole house. It's the uncertainty of knowing when it's 38 00:02:23,669 --> 00:02:26,460 gonna happen and then the total disruption to your life. 39 00:02:32,699 --> 00:02:35,039 KATE MARTIN: I can see a group of stone buildings which I 40 00:02:35,050 --> 00:02:38,850 assume is the estate office. Hopefully someone there will be 41 00:02:38,860 --> 00:02:41,399 able to point me in the direction of Ben Eardley, the 42 00:02:41,410 --> 00:02:44,529 estate's project manager and the driving force behind the flood 43 00:02:44,539 --> 00:02:47,279 management scheme that he believes will be able to help 44 00:02:47,289 --> 00:02:50,270 solve some of the area's water management issues. 45 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:55,690 BEN EARDLEY: Hey, is it Kate? 46 00:02:55,699 --> 00:02:56,130 KATE MARTIN: It is! 47 00:02:56,139 --> 00:02:56,970 BEN EARDLEY: Hey, how you doing? 48 00:02:56,990 --> 00:02:58,960 KATE MARTIN: I believe you've got some issues with flooding. 49 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,039 BEN EARDLEY: Obviously, with climate change, we're seeing 50 00:03:01,050 --> 00:03:04,259 more frequent and more extreme weather, but some of the issues 51 00:03:04,270 --> 00:03:07,339 are also to do with how the rivers and streams here have 52 00:03:07,350 --> 00:03:10,509 been managed that in itself has caused and does cause issues as 53 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:11,020 well. 54 00:03:11,050 --> 00:03:15,710 Now, we're learning how we can work with nature to benefit 55 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:17,229 those downstream communities. 56 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:18,720 KATE MARTIN: It would be good to see some of the work you're 57 00:03:18,729 --> 00:03:20,990 doing. So any chance we can go and have a look? 58 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,800 BEN EARDLEY: Yeah, it does get a bit muddy up there. So the only 59 00:03:23,809 --> 00:03:25,610 way we're going to get there really is in the gator. 60 00:03:32,669 --> 00:03:38,169 KATE MARTIN: This vehicle's fantastic. Go off road, but 61 00:03:38,179 --> 00:03:39,610 we're going on the road as well. 62 00:03:40,990 --> 00:03:43,100 Seems to do absolutely everything. 63 00:03:45,350 --> 00:03:48,550 It's a great place to appreciate the landscape. Cos it's all sort 64 00:03:48,559 --> 00:03:52,070 of open sided. You can see the villages, you can see people's 65 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,580 houses, obviously, these are the people who are affected by the 66 00:03:55,589 --> 00:03:59,500 flooding, but there's also a fantastic landscape and I 67 00:03:59,509 --> 00:04:03,000 imagine a real abundance of wildlife. So what effect do 68 00:04:03,009 --> 00:04:05,240 these flooding events have on the wildlife? 69 00:04:05,410 --> 00:04:07,800 BEN EARDLEY: This landscape looks beautiful, but it's 70 00:04:07,809 --> 00:04:12,039 actually suffered significant declines in biodiversity. 71 00:04:13,199 --> 00:04:16,859 So what we'd like to do is to help increase biodiversity, 72 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:22,220 bring some of that lost wildlife back. Ironically, what we'd like 73 00:04:22,230 --> 00:04:25,559 to see in certain areas of the landscape is more water, 74 00:04:25,750 --> 00:04:29,380 creating space for water upstream. We can help to reduce 75 00:04:29,390 --> 00:04:31,100 flooding downstream. 76 00:04:32,070 --> 00:04:35,600 KATE MARTIN: And I also believe that you are doing something... 77 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:36,880 a little bit special?! 78 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,619 BEN EARDLEY: Yeah, we've got our own flood engineers if you like. 79 00:04:39,630 --> 00:04:41,980 So why don't we drive on a bit further and I'll show you what 80 00:04:41,989 --> 00:04:42,739 I'm talking about. 81 00:04:50,130 --> 00:04:51,570 KATE MARTIN: This is a gorgeous spot. 82 00:04:51,690 --> 00:04:53,140 BEN EARDLEY: Yeah, it's beautiful, isn't it? Whiteman's 83 00:04:53,179 --> 00:04:53,529 wood. 84 00:04:53,540 --> 00:04:56,329 KATE MARTIN: You can see sort of woodlands around us in a field 85 00:04:56,339 --> 00:04:57,299 in front of us. 86 00:04:57,670 --> 00:04:59,529 BEN EARDLEY: If I take you over there, I can talk through some 87 00:04:59,540 --> 00:05:02,010 of those issues that we, we discussed earlier on. 88 00:05:04,309 --> 00:05:07,320 KATE MARTIN: We're looking out now over rolling green fields. 89 00:05:07,790 --> 00:05:09,230 BEN EARDLEY: It's a lovely landscape, but it's not a 90 00:05:09,239 --> 00:05:12,230 natural landscape before this was floodplain. So the water 91 00:05:12,239 --> 00:05:15,649 would move through this field. You'd have had wetlands, streams 92 00:05:15,660 --> 00:05:19,579 and ponds flowing down into the main floodplain itself. What 93 00:05:19,589 --> 00:05:23,399 we've done to graze these areas is drain that catchment and you 94 00:05:23,410 --> 00:05:24,690 can hear the sound of sort of flowing water. 95 00:05:24,700 --> 00:05:26,570 You've got that drainage ditch behind you, but that drainage 96 00:05:26,579 --> 00:05:30,040 ditch is there to drain this land so that it can be managed 97 00:05:30,049 --> 00:05:31,019 in a certain way. 98 00:05:31,299 --> 00:05:34,079 The drawback from that is that that water just moves through 99 00:05:34,089 --> 00:05:36,540 the landscape very, very quickly now. So rather than it being 100 00:05:36,549 --> 00:05:39,200 soaked up by the field, it just shoots through that drainage 101 00:05:39,209 --> 00:05:41,109 channel straight through the catchment and out into the 102 00:05:41,119 --> 00:05:41,899 Bristol Channel. 103 00:05:42,190 --> 00:05:44,339 KATE MARTIN: And that's all moving really quickly through 104 00:05:44,350 --> 00:05:46,619 the lands. That's when you then get those sort of flooding 105 00:05:46,630 --> 00:05:49,019 events in the villages and people's properties? 106 00:05:49,114 --> 00:05:49,295 BEN EARDLEY: Yeah. 107 00:05:49,394 --> 00:05:52,035 KATE MARTIN: So is the flood management scheme that you're 108 00:05:52,045 --> 00:05:54,695 working at the moment aiming to reverse management that's 109 00:05:54,704 --> 00:05:56,045 happened to you in the past. 110 00:05:56,054 --> 00:05:58,614 BEN EARDLEY: In certain areas we are looking to reconnect those 111 00:05:58,625 --> 00:06:01,445 rivers and streams with the surrounding landscape. We've got 112 00:06:01,454 --> 00:06:03,684 some little engineers helping us with that at the moment on the 113 00:06:03,695 --> 00:06:05,834 project. If you come with me, I'll take you over to the 114 00:06:05,845 --> 00:06:08,424 enclosure where we're implementing a big part of our 115 00:06:08,434 --> 00:06:09,295 flood management scheme. 116 00:06:09,304 --> 00:06:10,244 KATE MARTIN: Fascinating! 117 00:06:13,359 --> 00:06:15,380 This is quite a serious fence. 118 00:06:15,470 --> 00:06:17,160 BEN EARDLEY: It looks quite severe but it does let the 119 00:06:17,170 --> 00:06:18,619 wildlife in and out. 120 00:06:18,619 --> 00:06:20,649 KATE MARTIN: But the workers can't, they're locked in? 121 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:22,100 BEN EARDLEY: No, we want them to stay on the job. 122 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,510 KATE MARTIN: That's quite concerning in now. I want to see 123 00:06:25,519 --> 00:06:25,700 them. 124 00:06:25,809 --> 00:06:28,670 BEN EARDLEY: Yeah. Ok! Let's pop in the easiest way to walk 125 00:06:28,679 --> 00:06:30,619 through the site is up through the stream itself. 126 00:06:35,940 --> 00:06:38,820 KATE MARTIN: It's like Narnia, there is something otherworldly 127 00:06:38,829 --> 00:06:39,589 about it, isn't it? 128 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,670 BEN EARDLEY: I think it's been untouched and unmanaged for so 129 00:06:43,679 --> 00:06:44,160 long. 130 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:46,609 KATE MARTIN: Yeah. If you suddenly came across like a 131 00:06:46,619 --> 00:06:48,010 woodland elf or a nymph- 132 00:06:48,019 --> 00:06:49,239 BEN EARDLEY: You wouldn't be surprised! 133 00:06:54,910 --> 00:06:57,290 So you can actually hear some of the work that the guys have been 134 00:06:57,299 --> 00:06:58,809 doing up here, actually. 135 00:07:00,010 --> 00:07:01,549 KATE MARTIN: Yeah. It's definitely getting louder, isn't 136 00:07:01,559 --> 00:07:02,399 it that water? 137 00:07:04,309 --> 00:07:06,170 BEN EARDLEY: So, that's some of the work they've been doing. 138 00:07:06,540 --> 00:07:08,049 KATE MARTIN: A lot of sticks. 139 00:07:08,149 --> 00:07:10,920 BEN EARDLEY: Yeah. And that's where they live over there in 140 00:07:10,929 --> 00:07:12,119 the hole in the bank. 141 00:07:12,750 --> 00:07:15,010 KATE MARTIN: I'm getting the idea. These aren't people. 142 00:07:15,019 --> 00:07:17,980 BEN EARDLEY: No, they aren't people. No, this is a Beaver 143 00:07:17,989 --> 00:07:20,970 created dam. We've actually got Beaver living and working in 144 00:07:20,980 --> 00:07:21,290 here. 145 00:07:27,250 --> 00:07:30,950 CHRYSSA BROWN: Beavers were quite widespread across much of 146 00:07:30,959 --> 00:07:36,260 Europe and also in the UK during the 1600s/1700s they were 147 00:07:36,269 --> 00:07:39,940 hunted. There were still concentrations of them in 148 00:07:39,950 --> 00:07:43,519 Germany, France and Norway. But at their lowest, we were at the 149 00:07:43,529 --> 00:07:45,399 point of almost losing them. 150 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,429 My name is Chryssa Brown and I am a PHD researcher looking at 151 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:55,329 how reintroduced Beavers affect rivers and streams. 152 00:07:55,329 --> 00:07:59,079 We've seen in the UK, this real interest in Beaver 153 00:07:59,089 --> 00:08:02,790 reintroduction and how they could assist in natural flood 154 00:08:02,799 --> 00:08:04,549 management. 155 00:08:04,549 --> 00:08:09,970 As a rodent who lives in water for majority of their life, 156 00:08:09,980 --> 00:08:13,670 they're interested in creating and extending their territories 157 00:08:13,959 --> 00:08:16,299 to do that. They create dams 158 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:22,549 By doing so this water then spreads out, as soon as you're 159 00:08:22,559 --> 00:08:27,940 able to increase and extend that area of water. You attract all 160 00:08:27,950 --> 00:08:31,510 of these other species and animals that thrive on that 161 00:08:31,519 --> 00:08:38,039 environment flies beetles, bugs, fish, amphibians as well and 162 00:08:38,049 --> 00:08:41,750 they create life and through their modifications, they 163 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,500 encourage that life to continue to use that environment. 164 00:08:52,950 --> 00:08:54,880 BEN EARDLEY: So this is where they're starting to dam this 165 00:08:54,890 --> 00:08:59,099 area. But you can see all the boulders, stones, all the woody 166 00:08:59,109 --> 00:09:02,729 material, all the earth, that's all material that they've moved. 167 00:09:02,830 --> 00:09:05,599 KATE MARTIN: They built all that, all the difference between 168 00:09:05,609 --> 00:09:11,210 the sort of stream and the top is what about 4 ft, 5 ft maybe? 169 00:09:11,359 --> 00:09:13,489 And how long has it taken them to build up? 170 00:09:13,619 --> 00:09:17,070 BEN EARDLEY: They've only done this in the last few months. 171 00:09:17,070 --> 00:09:17,119 KATE MARTIN: Really?! 172 00:09:17,119 --> 00:09:19,349 BEN EARDLEY: So, yeah. Yeah. So it hasn't taken them very long 173 00:09:19,359 --> 00:09:21,640 at all. And you can see we're starting to create wet woodland 174 00:09:21,650 --> 00:09:24,570 over there to the right before you just have one channel. Now 175 00:09:24,580 --> 00:09:27,330 you've got a variety of different water habitats. 176 00:09:27,340 --> 00:09:29,000 KATE MARTIN: That's absolutely amazing. 177 00:09:29,330 --> 00:09:31,349 BEN EARDLEY: They are incredible creatures. Yeah. I mean, if, if 178 00:09:31,359 --> 00:09:33,640 we walk around there a section you can get a better view of the 179 00:09:33,650 --> 00:09:34,159 house. 180 00:09:35,450 --> 00:09:37,369 I think we can just track straight to this bit. 181 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,700 KATE MARTIN: Just walked up through this holly bush and i'm 182 00:09:42,710 --> 00:09:43,989 stood in a pond. 183 00:09:43,989 --> 00:09:47,830 Around me there are trees that are now surrounded by water. 184 00:09:48,210 --> 00:09:51,690 It's so different from that kind of rushy-tumbly stream that 185 00:09:51,700 --> 00:09:54,580 we've just walked past. The Beavers have done this in a 186 00:09:54,590 --> 00:09:57,530 relatively short space of time. Only a matter of months. So what 187 00:09:57,539 --> 00:10:00,260 are you expecting this area to look like in a year's time? 188 00:10:00,690 --> 00:10:02,950 BEN EARDLEY: The guys they will take on bigger trees and they 189 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:05,710 will affect bigger change. There's somewhere else that I 190 00:10:05,719 --> 00:10:08,909 can take you and show you that really sort of highlight that 191 00:10:08,919 --> 00:10:11,359 for you. It's a very different site to this one, but more 192 00:10:11,369 --> 00:10:12,390 exciting in some ways. 193 00:10:12,570 --> 00:10:13,169 KATE MARTIN: Right. Let's go 194 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:13,809 BEN EARDLEY: Cool. 195 00:10:29,549 --> 00:10:32,369 So this is paddock's wood for a different look and feel. 196 00:10:33,179 --> 00:10:34,000 KATE MARTIN: Wow. 197 00:10:35,659 --> 00:10:39,460 The first enclosure that we went to the Beavers had created the 198 00:10:39,469 --> 00:10:43,250 pool that was tens of metres squared across compared to where 199 00:10:43,260 --> 00:10:46,960 we are now, it does look like something that you would expect 200 00:10:46,969 --> 00:10:48,489 to see like the Everglades. 201 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:54,330 This pool stretches hundreds of square meters pretty much as far 202 00:10:54,340 --> 00:10:55,140 as I can see. 203 00:10:55,890 --> 00:10:58,479 BEN EARDLEY: This was all dry before, this woodland. This was 204 00:10:58,489 --> 00:11:01,669 just a small channel. And now essentially you've got a wetland 205 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:05,030 and you can see, you know, more signs of them felling trees. 206 00:11:05,630 --> 00:11:08,950 It's a habitat we've lost in this country. You know, we've 207 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:11,739 lost 90% of our wetlands since Roman time. 208 00:11:12,900 --> 00:11:15,320 It's a missing component of the landscape and a super important 209 00:11:15,330 --> 00:11:15,549 one. 210 00:11:19,289 --> 00:11:23,909 KATE MARTIN: It's amazing what relatively small animals can 211 00:11:23,919 --> 00:11:27,190 actually do, the changes they can make in their environment. 212 00:11:27,830 --> 00:11:29,859 It really is quite astounding. 213 00:11:30,869 --> 00:11:32,840 BEN EARDLEY: I can show you some more further down in the site if 214 00:11:32,849 --> 00:11:34,530 you want to follow me down. 215 00:11:40,859 --> 00:11:44,489 That's the, the original Beaver Dam in the site. So that's, 216 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:46,190 that's what's holding back all that water. 217 00:11:46,340 --> 00:11:48,049 KATE MARTIN: That's unbelievable. So that is a 218 00:11:48,059 --> 00:11:52,239 essentially a pile of sticks, holding that huge pond. 219 00:11:52,460 --> 00:11:54,549 BEN EARDLEY: They literally constructed this over the course 220 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,239 of just a few days. You know, we did a site check one week and 221 00:11:57,250 --> 00:12:01,640 the site was just a couple of spring fed streams and then came 222 00:12:01,650 --> 00:12:03,619 in the next week and did our site checks and there was a dam 223 00:12:03,630 --> 00:12:06,169 here and a- you know, a big wetland. 224 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:08,820 KATE MARTIN: I can obviously see the physical changes that have 225 00:12:08,830 --> 00:12:11,950 happened here, obviously with the, the dam and the pond and 226 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,440 then the stream. But what's the sort of environmental impact of 227 00:12:15,450 --> 00:12:15,840 this. 228 00:12:15,849 --> 00:12:18,840 BEN EARDLEY: When we have sort of more extreme weather, water 229 00:12:18,849 --> 00:12:21,500 is flowing more slowly through this environment, so that 230 00:12:21,510 --> 00:12:24,460 protects communities downstream at drier times when you've got 231 00:12:24,469 --> 00:12:27,780 hotter dry weather and perhaps the risk of drought, you've held 232 00:12:27,789 --> 00:12:30,679 more water in the landscape that's released more slowly. So 233 00:12:30,690 --> 00:12:33,893 you've reduced the impact of that drought on the local area 234 00:12:33,903 --> 00:12:34,473 as well. 235 00:12:34,732 --> 00:12:37,263 KATE MARTIN: All the stuff that we've seen so far from a sort of 236 00:12:37,273 --> 00:12:39,533 environmental point of view and also from a natural flood 237 00:12:39,543 --> 00:12:42,403 management point of view is, is fantastic. 238 00:12:42,413 --> 00:12:45,583 But I know myself, any sort of change, you're trying to do any 239 00:12:45,593 --> 00:12:47,263 sort of environmental work you're trying to do. There were 240 00:12:47,273 --> 00:12:51,543 always people who are less keen, have you had a lot of sort of 241 00:12:51,552 --> 00:12:52,203 complaints? 242 00:12:52,333 --> 00:12:54,283 BEN EARDLEY: I'm of the firm opinion that they're easily 243 00:12:54,293 --> 00:12:58,546 managed. It just needs to be a approach. So if a farmer has 244 00:12:58,556 --> 00:13:01,216 land and Beaver move in and start building dams, he knows 245 00:13:01,226 --> 00:13:03,106 who to call to come and sort that problem out. 246 00:13:03,116 --> 00:13:05,666 You can put in things called Beaver deceivers or you can 247 00:13:05,676 --> 00:13:08,726 relocate the Beaver to somewhere else in that catchment. So it 248 00:13:08,736 --> 00:13:12,346 just needs to be sensible and thought through. And I think the 249 00:13:12,356 --> 00:13:17,226 positives far outweigh any of the inconvenience we have to 250 00:13:17,236 --> 00:13:20,296 accept for that species being in the wider landscape. 251 00:13:20,650 --> 00:13:22,469 KATE MARTIN: It's interesting. I think most people would probably 252 00:13:22,479 --> 00:13:25,659 think of Beavers as kind of wild animals that we don't really 253 00:13:25,669 --> 00:13:28,010 have any sort of control over. But do you still see them a 254 00:13:28,020 --> 00:13:31,090 little bit as a sort of- more of a human connection than you 255 00:13:31,099 --> 00:13:33,419 would do they have sort of personalities? 256 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:34,900 BEN EARDLEY: The animals themselves, they've certainly 257 00:13:34,909 --> 00:13:37,539 got personalities and one animal in particular, we sort of 258 00:13:37,549 --> 00:13:40,390 nicknamed the Grylls. She had sort of quite a hard start in 259 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:40,789 life. 260 00:13:43,289 --> 00:13:50,130 Grylls is introduced with her mum. Beavers cachet food in the 261 00:13:50,140 --> 00:13:53,080 pools and ponds to feed on during the winter when times are 262 00:13:53,090 --> 00:13:55,080 tough and construct dams. 263 00:13:57,140 --> 00:14:00,030 They're big animals when they're fully grown. Well, over 30 kg. 264 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,000 Some of the bits of wood that they move would be a significant 265 00:14:03,010 --> 00:14:06,309 branch for me to pick up. But obviously, Grylls wasn't at that 266 00:14:06,390 --> 00:14:09,789 stage. She was 2/3 months old, you know, a few kgs. 267 00:14:10,169 --> 00:14:13,500 She wasn't gonna be carrying out any great feats of engineering. 268 00:14:13,869 --> 00:14:16,359 They pick up a lot of the behaviours that they need to 269 00:14:16,369 --> 00:14:20,039 survive from other family members, but things didn't work 270 00:14:20,049 --> 00:14:21,840 out like that for Grylls. 271 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:29,380 Unfortunately, her mum passed away within a few weeks of being 272 00:14:29,390 --> 00:14:33,419 introduced to the site. People didn't give Grylls much chance 273 00:14:33,429 --> 00:14:39,609 of surviving the rest of the winter. 274 00:14:39,609 --> 00:14:41,979 Beavers themselves have got no natural predators anymore in 275 00:14:41,989 --> 00:14:45,280 this country, but young Beaver will, will still be taken by 276 00:14:45,289 --> 00:14:45,940 fox. 277 00:14:45,950 --> 00:14:48,489 We know there are a fox around and about in that habitat and 278 00:14:48,500 --> 00:14:52,960 Grylls was small. So the fear was that she would be eaten by a 279 00:14:52,969 --> 00:14:56,789 fox or that she was simply too small to survive the harsh 280 00:14:56,799 --> 00:14:59,690 weather conditions in the winter. Spent a lot of time 281 00:14:59,700 --> 00:15:04,099 putting vegetables and fruit into the site to keep her going. 282 00:15:05,289 --> 00:15:08,109 We were just checking the camera traps, checking the site 283 00:15:08,119 --> 00:15:12,400 regularly, fully expecting to find her having passed away. We 284 00:15:12,409 --> 00:15:13,669 were just on tenterhooks. 285 00:15:18,030 --> 00:15:21,580 We've got several camera traps in the site to check on the, the 286 00:15:21,590 --> 00:15:24,950 Beaver. We have to go out to the camera traps, download the 287 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,780 footage from an SD card, take it back to the office and check. We 288 00:15:27,789 --> 00:15:30,570 all sort of hunk around the laptop when we downloaded the 289 00:15:30,580 --> 00:15:33,059 footage from the enclosure that Grylls is in. We saw something 290 00:15:33,070 --> 00:15:34,159 that surprised us all. 291 00:15:35,630 --> 00:15:39,090 We saw footage of Grylls trying to construct her own little dam. 292 00:15:39,260 --> 00:15:42,679 You know, you'd be stretching it to call them dams. They were 293 00:15:42,690 --> 00:15:45,669 sort of gatherings of twigs and branches, but it was good just 294 00:15:45,679 --> 00:15:48,770 to know that she was trying her best. She had us in fits of 295 00:15:48,780 --> 00:15:51,489 giggles a good few times. She was always trying to carry 296 00:15:51,500 --> 00:15:53,719 sticks and branches that were too big for her. 297 00:15:54,020 --> 00:15:57,049 She used to do funny little dances and things. She tried to 298 00:15:57,059 --> 00:15:59,840 hold like two or three parsnips in her mouth at once as well as 299 00:15:59,849 --> 00:16:02,900 a branch and went nose to nose with a fox on the trail cam. 300 00:16:02,909 --> 00:16:03,809 That was quite funny. 301 00:16:04,789 --> 00:16:07,710 Time went on and she survived sort of week after week and 302 00:16:07,719 --> 00:16:10,359 then, you know, more signs of feeding more signs of other 303 00:16:10,369 --> 00:16:13,669 beaver behaviour, more signs of her looking sort of healthy and 304 00:16:13,679 --> 00:16:15,140 ok on the camera traps. 305 00:16:15,950 --> 00:16:18,460 That's why she's called Grylls. It's a bit of a funny take on 306 00:16:18,469 --> 00:16:21,460 Bear Grylls and Born Survivor. But it's because nobody really 307 00:16:21,469 --> 00:16:24,809 gave her a chance. And to everyone's surprise she pulled 308 00:16:24,820 --> 00:16:25,280 through. 309 00:16:32,359 --> 00:16:35,719 She's the Beaver in here now with the male, Yogi. And they're 310 00:16:35,729 --> 00:16:36,419 doing really well. 311 00:16:36,419 --> 00:16:39,020 KATE MARTIN: Now, I do realize they are wild animals and there 312 00:16:39,030 --> 00:16:43,169 is never a guarantee. But do you think there's any chance we 313 00:16:43,179 --> 00:16:43,780 might see one? 314 00:16:43,789 --> 00:16:46,580 BEN EARDLEY: Well, we can potter along to the lodge and I've got 315 00:16:46,590 --> 00:16:49,440 a thermal imaging camera. That's a good way if they are out and 316 00:16:49,450 --> 00:16:50,380 about to spot them. 317 00:16:52,859 --> 00:16:56,599 Right. We're gonna walk sort of across the back here and then 318 00:16:56,609 --> 00:16:59,770 along that bank and their lodge is at the end. So, if we're 319 00:16:59,780 --> 00:17:02,369 quiet as we walk along there, we've got more chance. 320 00:17:06,510 --> 00:17:08,939 I'm just gonna show you how to use this before we get down 321 00:17:08,949 --> 00:17:09,109 there. 322 00:17:09,979 --> 00:17:12,500 So, anything bright white is hot. 323 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,430 KATE MARTIN: Ok. I'll keep quiet. 324 00:17:18,489 --> 00:17:20,199 BEN EARDLEY: That's their lodge over there. So- 325 00:17:20,199 --> 00:17:21,400 KATE MARTIN: That's amazing! 326 00:17:24,708 --> 00:17:26,859 BEN EARDLEY: You can see just all that jumble of wood and 327 00:17:26,918 --> 00:17:30,810 stuff that's their lodge. so you can see the slides of how they 328 00:17:30,819 --> 00:17:33,569 get in and there's all that over there as well. 329 00:17:33,579 --> 00:17:34,890 KATE MARTIN: Is that a fallen tree? 330 00:17:34,949 --> 00:17:37,939 BEN EARDLEY: Yeah and a pond. And they build around that they 331 00:17:37,949 --> 00:17:40,849 can access underneath the water right to the bottom, the other 332 00:17:40,859 --> 00:17:41,599 side as well. 333 00:17:41,609 --> 00:17:47,766 KATE MARTIN: That's amazing! 334 00:17:47,766 --> 00:17:51,660 It's a shame we haven't seen them. It's a little bit early. 335 00:17:51,670 --> 00:17:53,280 They're still having a good kip! 336 00:17:53,550 --> 00:17:55,609 BEN EARDLEY: They're like students. They like to sleep 337 00:17:55,619 --> 00:17:56,280 through the day. 338 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:57,030 KATE MARTIN: Nothing wrong with that! 339 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:57,400 BEN EARDLEY: No! 340 00:17:58,209 --> 00:18:00,319 KATE MARTIN: So, what's the future do you think for them 341 00:18:00,329 --> 00:18:00,880 here? 342 00:18:01,069 --> 00:18:02,859 BEN EARDLEY: We haven't really seen Grylls very much so. We 343 00:18:02,869 --> 00:18:05,479 think it's, it's probably pretty likely that she's pregnant. 344 00:18:05,890 --> 00:18:09,099 They'll probably have kits in the next few weeks. They'll 345 00:18:09,109 --> 00:18:12,160 probably get even busier with the work that they do once 346 00:18:12,170 --> 00:18:14,910 they've got sort of a family as in, you know, male, female and 347 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:17,930 kits that tends to kick start another round of sort of 348 00:18:17,949 --> 00:18:19,290 ecosystem engineering. 349 00:18:19,300 --> 00:18:23,520 So it'll be interesting to see how that develops. But yeah, my 350 00:18:23,530 --> 00:18:26,250 hope is that in 2 to 3 years that we're in a situation 351 00:18:26,260 --> 00:18:29,910 whereby, you know, Beaver are more commonplace species that we 352 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:31,939 see in, in our rivers and streams. 353 00:18:32,339 --> 00:18:33,310 KATE MARTIN: That'd be good, wouldn't it? 354 00:18:37,420 --> 00:18:40,280 That's how Ben and I, left Grylls, Yogi and the other 355 00:18:40,290 --> 00:18:44,479 Beavers a couple of years ago, a lot can change in an ecosystem 356 00:18:44,489 --> 00:18:47,920 in that time. So, Ben's been back to the wetlands to describe 357 00:18:47,930 --> 00:18:51,339 the changes to the habitat and the Beaver colony, including 358 00:18:51,349 --> 00:18:53,780 some exciting news about the growing brood. 359 00:18:56,739 --> 00:18:58,819 BEN EARDLEY: Hey, Kate. So, I thought I'd give you a bit an 360 00:18:58,829 --> 00:19:01,979 update on the Beaver enclosure since you last came a few years 361 00:19:01,989 --> 00:19:05,109 ago here at paddocks. It's changed massively! 362 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:07,819 So, whereas before it was sort of quite an enclosed woodland 363 00:19:07,829 --> 00:19:10,589 when you were here, it is today, brimful of water because we've 364 00:19:10,599 --> 00:19:14,229 had so much rain recently, but it's also full of light. The 365 00:19:14,239 --> 00:19:16,709 Beavers of, of coppice, lots of the trees. 366 00:19:16,959 --> 00:19:19,339 And if I move over to one of the fresh dams they built, it's 367 00:19:19,349 --> 00:19:22,500 really clear the amount of dead wood habitat that they created. 368 00:19:22,510 --> 00:19:26,680 And by that, I mean, the amount of trees that they fell and just 369 00:19:26,689 --> 00:19:29,670 like the wetland, it's a habitat that we've lost from most of the 370 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:30,680 UK Really. 371 00:19:30,770 --> 00:19:34,180 And the Beaver put that back and in that are lots of opportunity 372 00:19:34,442 --> 00:19:38,503 for, for other wildlife. We see otter more often we see 373 00:19:38,512 --> 00:19:42,032 Kingfisher more often. There's a huge number of Dragonflies and 374 00:19:42,042 --> 00:19:44,713 bees and wasps during the warmer times of the year. 375 00:19:44,723 --> 00:19:47,532 We've got Water Vole in here as well, which is really important 376 00:19:47,542 --> 00:19:50,192 because Water Vole are having a really hard time nationally. 377 00:19:50,203 --> 00:19:52,792 But here at Holnicote, they're doing really well and in both 378 00:19:52,802 --> 00:19:55,355 Beaver enclosures, now, the water vole are thriving. 379 00:19:55,656 --> 00:19:58,855 We've been engaging with the local community as well. So 380 00:19:58,865 --> 00:20:01,696 every year we've been showing a group from the local community 381 00:20:01,706 --> 00:20:05,776 around the site. It's lovely to see such a wide sort of age 382 00:20:05,786 --> 00:20:06,725 group of people. 383 00:20:07,095 --> 00:20:08,176 JACK SIVITER: Hi, Ben. How's it going? 384 00:20:08,286 --> 00:20:08,916 BEN EARDLEY: Hey, Jack. 385 00:20:08,926 --> 00:20:11,235 Jack's our Beaver expert here at Holnicote. And he's going to 386 00:20:11,245 --> 00:20:13,765 tell you a little bit more about the, amazing wildlife we've got 387 00:20:13,776 --> 00:20:14,615 here on the site. 388 00:20:15,369 --> 00:20:17,939 JACK SIVITER: Our dominant pair in this site is a Yogi and 389 00:20:17,949 --> 00:20:20,020 Grylls. So they've, they're still together. They've mated 390 00:20:20,030 --> 00:20:22,390 for life, which is really exciting. It's part of a Beaver 391 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,199 ecology. So those animals pair for the duration of their 392 00:20:25,209 --> 00:20:27,829 lifetime and it's a really strong bond and they defend that 393 00:20:27,839 --> 00:20:29,449 territory quite fiercely. 394 00:20:29,459 --> 00:20:31,500 But we've also got some exciting updates in the fact that we've 395 00:20:31,510 --> 00:20:34,650 had kits born in the site for the last three years. 396 00:20:35,729 --> 00:20:38,349 But it was a super exciting time here for us to have the first 397 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,689 Beaver born on Exmoor for well, at least 400 years, the first 398 00:20:42,699 --> 00:20:45,829 year kit we had has been born in kind of late spring. 399 00:20:47,349 --> 00:20:49,939 We picked that up on our trail cameras. First time we saw this 400 00:20:49,949 --> 00:20:51,910 Beaver, I actually thought it was a water vole cos it was so 401 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,199 small. It's one of those moments where you're like re-watching 402 00:20:54,209 --> 00:20:56,520 the footage over and over again. Just to confirm what you think 403 00:20:56,530 --> 00:20:57,099 you're seeing. 404 00:20:58,469 --> 00:21:01,500 We decided to run a bit of a competition to name the baby 405 00:21:01,510 --> 00:21:02,099 Beaver. 406 00:21:02,349 --> 00:21:05,089 We put it out onto social media and asked the public and 407 00:21:05,099 --> 00:21:07,500 obviously got some really interesting names. But the one 408 00:21:07,510 --> 00:21:10,199 that was picked out was Marcus Rashford because with the Euro 409 00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:12,069 finals were going on at the time we were doing really well and 410 00:21:12,079 --> 00:21:13,250 England got to the final. 411 00:21:15,050 --> 00:21:18,130 So at year two, we've had two more kits born to Yogi and 412 00:21:18,140 --> 00:21:21,750 Grylls and then we're moving into year three, which is where 413 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:22,390 we're at now. 414 00:21:23,209 --> 00:21:26,729 So this spring we had born two Beaver kits in our second 415 00:21:26,739 --> 00:21:30,270 enclosure called Moss and Ferns. And in this site, we picked out 416 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:33,459 a single kit this year and that was named Earps female 417 00:21:33,469 --> 00:21:35,760 goalkeeper from the women's World Cup. So, again, the 418 00:21:35,770 --> 00:21:38,510 football theme running strong through the paddocks enclosure. 419 00:21:42,420 --> 00:21:45,300 So I mentioned we'd had a single kit born this year. Well, that 420 00:21:45,310 --> 00:21:49,790 isn't entirely true. When I was out, one of the evenings with 421 00:21:49,839 --> 00:21:51,910 the local ranger team showing them some of the Beaver 422 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:53,469 enclosure and showing them some of the things. 423 00:21:53,479 --> 00:21:56,680 I saw a single kit sat out in the sort of evening sun on a 424 00:21:56,689 --> 00:21:59,459 little island and then we were just watching this kit and as we 425 00:21:59,469 --> 00:22:02,520 stood there a second kit swims up, climbs out onto the island 426 00:22:02,530 --> 00:22:04,560 and sits next to a single kit. 427 00:22:04,780 --> 00:22:08,209 And while that was carrying on a third kit, swam up just from 428 00:22:08,219 --> 00:22:11,109 behind and sat there and I had these little triplets all sat in 429 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,560 a row sort of in the dappled sunlight feeding away. 430 00:22:13,579 --> 00:22:14,640 So it was a really nice moment. 431 00:22:15,319 --> 00:22:17,949 We've obviously got this one single kit named Earps that's 432 00:22:17,959 --> 00:22:20,380 got siblings and we need to come up with some names for these 433 00:22:20,390 --> 00:22:21,260 guys going forward. 434 00:22:21,270 --> 00:22:23,260 So, I mean, you know, we're in the run up to Christmas now. So 435 00:22:23,270 --> 00:22:25,599 it might be really nice if we had a bit of a Christmas theme 436 00:22:25,609 --> 00:22:28,099 to the names like Mince pie and pudding or something like that 437 00:22:28,109 --> 00:22:30,890 might be a nice Christmas theme to the Beaver enclosure. 438 00:22:32,439 --> 00:22:35,030 So we stood here with the lodge behind us. We're unlikely to see 439 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,560 any Beavers today because the animals are crepuscular. They 440 00:22:37,569 --> 00:22:41,150 spend, most of the sort of early hours of the evening and the 441 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:42,739 night doing their activities. 442 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:46,060 I've got with me today my laptop to just check the SD cards that 443 00:22:46,069 --> 00:22:49,099 are scattered around in the trail cameras on the site and we 444 00:22:49,109 --> 00:22:51,300 can, go through the footage and just see what we see. 445 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:55,729 That's amazing. We've got one of the young kits swimming around 446 00:22:55,739 --> 00:22:58,500 with mum. It's really lovely to see these animals just like, 447 00:22:58,510 --> 00:22:59,219 really interactive. 448 00:22:59,290 --> 00:23:02,219 So the, the young kits sit a lot higher in the water than the 449 00:23:02,229 --> 00:23:04,729 adults. They're a lot more buoyant. It's a lot more air in 450 00:23:04,739 --> 00:23:08,130 their fur. And, what they'll do is the kits will climb all over 451 00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:09,150 mum's back. 452 00:23:09,250 --> 00:23:11,900 They'll swim under mum, they'll clamber on top of them and 453 00:23:11,910 --> 00:23:13,900 there's a little bit quite often, but you do see a lot of 454 00:23:13,910 --> 00:23:15,489 the wrestling as well. 455 00:23:15,510 --> 00:23:18,630 So mum and kits will be like play, fighting in the water. All 456 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,250 the play is essentially just a way of practicing kind of 457 00:23:21,334 --> 00:23:23,635 natural behaviours, gaining their strength, getting their 458 00:23:23,645 --> 00:23:24,875 confidence up in the water. 459 00:23:24,935 --> 00:23:28,285 And you do see mum tell kits off a lot as well when she gets a 460 00:23:28,295 --> 00:23:30,255 little bit too much, they've got stuff they need to be getting on 461 00:23:30,265 --> 00:23:32,025 with. So, yeah, it's really nice. They've got proper 462 00:23:32,035 --> 00:23:34,885 personalities and, the interactions between the animals 463 00:23:34,895 --> 00:23:36,935 are really- that family bond is really quite strong. 464 00:23:40,699 --> 00:23:43,260 It's lovely to see that footage of the Beavers and the kits kind 465 00:23:43,270 --> 00:23:46,969 of, using their environment and, just as everyone else is like 466 00:23:46,979 --> 00:23:49,959 stocking up for Christmas and getting all their gifts in these 467 00:23:49,969 --> 00:23:52,439 guys are doing exactly the same thing and stashing their food in 468 00:23:52,449 --> 00:23:54,890 the bottom of the ponds to see out the winter in the cosy 469 00:23:54,900 --> 00:23:55,359 lodge. 470 00:24:00,010 --> 00:24:02,849 KATE MARTIN: It's been 400 years since Beavers in this country 471 00:24:02,859 --> 00:24:06,670 were hunted to extinction. It's really great now to see them 472 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,880 thriving, having kits and making a positive impact on the habitat 473 00:24:10,890 --> 00:24:14,449 and wildlife as well as doing their bit to improve flood 474 00:24:14,459 --> 00:24:16,750 management and the lives of local people. 475 00:24:26,290 --> 00:24:29,109 Thanks for listening to this episode of the National Trust 476 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:32,670 podcast. We'll be back with a new series of the National Trust 477 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,020 podcast in spring 2024 to get all our episodes as soon as 478 00:24:37,030 --> 00:24:40,160 they're released, you can follow us on your favorite podcast app 479 00:24:40,310 --> 00:24:42,890 and while you're there, please do share your ratings and 480 00:24:42,900 --> 00:24:43,560 reviews. 481 00:24:43,569 --> 00:24:46,890 We'd love to hear what you think of the show. Plus you can catch 482 00:24:46,900 --> 00:24:49,839 up with our large back catalogue of audio programmes from the 483 00:24:49,849 --> 00:24:55,290 National Trust at nationaltrust.org.uk/podcasts 484 00:24:56,209 --> 00:24:59,729 for now from all of us at the National Trust podcast. We wish 485 00:24:59,739 --> 00:25:02,910 you a very Merry Christmas, however you choose to celebrate 486 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:04,869 it and a very happy New Year.