We Built Fake Beaver Dams to Rewild this Dead River
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2024
- Earlier this year we introduced you to Glassie, our riparian restoration project in Scotland. In this video, we're constructing our fake beavers to really kickstart regeneration of this river.
🌾 To support our work you can become a member here: mossy.earth
MOSSY EARTH MEMBERSHIP
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The rewilding membership that restores nature across a wide range of ecosystems.
🌲 Support a diversity of ecosystems
🐺 Rewild habitats to bring back biodiversity
🦫 Fund neglected species & ecosystems
Learn more and become a member here: mossy.earth
💪 OUR PARTNERS IN THIS VIDEO
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River Revivers: riverrevivers.co.uk/
Glassie: www.thebunkhouse.co.uk/
⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️
0:00 Intro
2:00 Project recap
3:21 River fly survey
5:36 Building the dams
11:23 Real beaver dams
🔎 ABOUT THIS PROJECT
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Beavers have rightly claimed a lot of accolades in the recent rewilding movement for their central role in restoring riparian areas. The dams they engineer create habitats, filter water and help mitigate flood damage and droughts. For degraded riparian areas devoid of trees and beavers, artificial structures called Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) are being used to mimic the effects of beaver dams. This is the case for our latest project in Scotland at Glassie Farm, a member of the Northwoods Rewilding Network (NRN). Habitat degradation, pollution and rising water temperatures are threatening a host of important native species. In partnership with River Revivers, we’re building BDAs and planting native trees and scrub to create habitat, help improve water quality, stabilise water temperature and mitigate flood damage.
Read all about this work here:
www.mossy.earth/projects/ripa...
If you think this project is worth supporting then be sure to check out our membership www.mossy.earth/ without our members, none of this would be possible!
Have you guys found a way to keep these dams functioning long term? Beavers maintain dams pretty meticulously and they repair dams when they get washed out during floods. Is this river too small to wash out your dams or do you guys have a plan in place?
Is there a way to directly volunteer with Mossy Earth? Not donate money, but out there actually doing the work?
@@michaeld.3931 That sounds like work for a volunteer team, repairing dams does not sound like something that would need to be planned by an ecological professional, give them a bit of training and I think they'll do fine.
Btw, don't beavers dig the channels that lead off from their dams? If so, I didn't hear of you guys doing that in the video
@@michaeld.3931😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
This is what I wish conservation looked like everywhere. Dedicated people, serious result driven approach, transparent finance and results handling and great documentation. You guys are the best
everyone looks like they're having fun too!
that's what's so great about mossy earth. they are actual scientists, who abide by regulations and careful planning, which makes their projects legitimate. it makes me feel good to watch and support a group that doesn't just arbitrarily pick their projects and arent made up of real scientists
Well said!
Well-said.
This, yes! I frequently donate to a few various causes but over the last few years I've all but stopped because there's really no way to ensure my money is being used for the cause I sent it to.
This channel showcases how to do humanitarian and ecological restoration the RIGHT way. Transparency, honesty, and clear cut results... And all with a paper trail, to boot! The earth can only benefit from being populated by brilliant people like this channel.
It's amazing the impact a bundle of sticks and day's work can have on the ecosystem.
Unbeaverable isn't it... Looking forward to going back and seeing their impact. Cheers - Rob
Fine sediment capture, new channel formation, insect habitat which leads to more fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians, eel habitat, juvenile and adult trout habitat, water filtration, ground water level increase - which itself may mean increased replenishment of aquifers, decreased issues with drought (through gradual release of ground water) increased temporary and permanent ponds, greater floral diversity due to increased wet patches among dry, reduced negative effects from floods on the main stem due to interruption of flow in this tributary. Etc etc etc 🦫💚
Insert bundle of sticks joke [here].
Parachute beavers like they did in the 1940s!!
Hahahah 😂 I don't think we'd be allowed - Rob
Paratrooper Beaver time
That didn’t work all that well. Very stressful on the beavers. Better to really figure out the best places for beavers and then carry in a family or two.
That didn't go well. But if you build it they will come. Every two years, beaver youth are pushed out of their parents territory. Provide them with a good starter flat and they will move in and turn it into a wetland mansion. 😂
Make sure to teach the beaver how to open the parachute first
I absolutely LOVE the transparency that Mossy Earth produces. The updates throughout a project, the scientific findings, the video blogging, working with a variety of experts, and of course the land owners / overseers.
Right? They're leading the charge for transparent and well documented sustainability projects. I hope to see them inspire 1000 more!
The mother helping out with a child on her side is a champion
Oh yeah, was great having their help and everyone else who got involved. Cheers, Rob
Beaver mimicry is one of the most important things we can do to both mitigate and prevent global warming, especially here in the Western United States. Keep up the good work!
Guys, can we all just take a big breath and feel the relief knowing the baby shrew was found by its mother.
Creating rock step dams and planting 1-2 cm green willow branches in the wet ground near and among the rocks in the EARLY SPRING (before they leaf) will start a cluster of willow trees growing whose roots will stabilize/lock in the soil, fill in the spaces between the rocks as they mature, and collect floating debris which will naturally build a "beaver dam". Prepare the branches by cutting scars in the green bark before shoving them at least a foot into the wet ground, a steel rod and 2 lb. hammer will help in rocky soil. You can successfully plant leafed out branches where the ground will stay wet and you strip almost all the leaves off, and if you do it a month before the hottest part of the summer...been playing around with this for decades, much fun watching small ponds form and 100 foot trees grow in what was nothing but a "backfill" gully area, the roots of certain willow trees will stop erosion better than almost any other tree... The key is do it so it looks natural.
This is great advice! Its remarkable what impact one can have to an ecosystem just by putting in some willow. Thank you for sharing this information. Cheers, Rob
Taking notes, thanks 🙏
I love that you're using hawthorn to act as protection for the more palatable tree species. There's an old saying, "the thorn is the mother of the oak", and you're putting it into action
Hello Mossy and your remarkable team! Your unwavering dedication serves as an incredible source of inspiration for all who share similar passions. I currently work in healthcare and once harbored dreams of pursuing an MD. However, ever since I started following your journey, since the kelp forest, my perspective has undergone a transformation. Now, I'm driven to embark on a path of global forestry restoration projects. Thanks to your incredible work all around!
Thank you for the support. Its always nice to hear that our work has inspired others to pursue careers in working nature, best of luck to you. Cheers, Rob
Healing people by healing the Earth
Just coming in to clarify that, at 10:25, that's not a baby shrew, it's a young mouse (probably an Apodemus) that probably left its nest too soon. Shrews have a pointy nose and short paws and ears.You proceeded correctly in leaving the young near the nest. Well done, and lovely project you have!
I wish they'd been able to keep a camera on the baby and capture it getting found and returned home...
@@Cathowl This makes me wonder if they accidentally fed a baby mouse to an adult shrew.
@@normancocksmelllol, i also noticed they were ignorant regarding pine needles. They are acid only when green. Once they fall they are already brown and neutral. Common myth among tomato growers
Hope Beavers can return 😻Good work as usual
Well we really do not know what the future has in store, but we will certainly continue to improve the habitat at Glassie and maybe one day they will. Cheers, Rob
Hope can hope ❤😊@@MossyEarth
A pair of beavers relocated to the area would have done all the work for you and of course maintain it. Without them, idk.
@@MossyEarthCan't u release a pair of beaver there?
It’s not like they and many other restoration groups haven’t thought of adding beaver as the first step. I’m betting that the environment needs some restoration before that’s viable. Generally, ecosystems are built up from the base of the food chain. Once established, beavers can spawn almost an entire ecosystem themselves. But doing that from scratch with a dead stream seems likely to fail.
I just wanted to say you guys are an inspiration to people and a great example of what working in conservation can look like. I love seeing the projects you guys do and the impact even small groups of people can have. Finding your channel a year ago and reading my now 2 favorite books was what made switch my degree from pre-med to conservation biology and ecology. You guys show other people that if you focus your efforts, we can all change small things and make the world somewhere we can all live and be happy, both humans and all life around us. Keep doing what you're doing.
Ah thank you for the encouraging words, we are certainly trying to do our bit. We think its worthwhile work. Best of luck with your degree. Cheers, Rob
What are your two favorite books?
@@nickhprBraiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Under the Sky We Make by Kimberly Nicholas! Both are fantastic and I would recommend them to anyone who enjoys this channel.
@@bellacatlover23Braiding Sweetgrass is amazing.
@@camillastacey4674it really is. It changed the course of both my and my sister's lives. She's working in green energy now and got her degree in environmental engineering. Before that she was going for astronautical engineering. And like I said before, I switched from pre-med to conservation biology, I'm excited to work as a field biologist, I think I'll be well suited to that work.
Thank you guys for the consistent hard work! Amazing as always. Looking forward to the future!
Thank you, but none of its possible with the commitment of our members! - Rob
In my county I am part of a junior program that aims to educate people and help the environment.
As someone from Scotland, thank you so much for trying to help our environment and our wildlife out! I continually feel like these days not nearly enough is being done by our government so seeing these types of projects is so reassuring.
you guys should sell some merch for extra income/alternative source of supporting. I would definitely buy some and proudly wear it.
100% agree. I need a shirt!
Love what all of you do here. Not just the science-based solution itself, but the involvement of so many people! Local NGOs and their family members, young scholars and expert ecologists... The synergy is admirable and we can't wait for the updates 💛💛 Love from Hong Kong xxx
Your work in saving ecosystens is so inspiring. God bless you
We just try and do our bit to help the planet and of course, its all possible thanks to our members. Cheers, Rob
I love seeing all these variety of rewilding projects. It's so much better to see than purely just "plant tree, job done!"
Thnxx for your positive works
No worries! Thanks for the support - Rob
Great work, guys. I was fortunate enough to go on a beaver safari last night at Hatchmere, where Cheshire Wildlife Trust have a beaver project running (shout our to Graham, if he's reading this). The reason they got the go ahead on the project is because the Trust were hoping to get the site awarded SSSI status and the European one too (the acronym of which has escapes me) but couldn't because the water quality was so poor - from farming, forestry, nearby roads, etc. So the beavers got the specific job of improving the water quality, just as you've been doing at Glassie. And they've achieved it within 3 years, well ahead of schedule. Sadly, because it's quite late in the season there isn't much activity and I saw little more than chewed up trees and a few ripples. That said, some of our group saw kingfishers (who benefit massively from having beavers around) and there were plenty of bats flying around, feasting on the midges and mozzies. Back to the beavers, there are now 6 or 7 in the enclosure, including the parents. It's looking like it might be a good idea for the older offspring to be relocated and paired up with beavers from other areas to improve genetic diversity.
Keep up the good work.
Hey i love you videos, once on vacation to germany me and my brother created a dam with stones in a river. instantly the water became alot deeper and we could take a refreshing swim. next year our dam was destroyed by some sour old men or children so we remade it. the farmers actualy thanked us while random people would complain. some time after that we found bigger fish enjoying the deep water that we created. we even made a gap so the fish could pass if needed (we didnt know much about biology so this was more safe in our eyes). We still repair the dam everytime we go there.
sorry for bad english I am drunk and not main language
Good stuff , looks a great little project , glad to see farmer keen too. Lookin forwatd to seeing how its going next season 🙂
Yes Julian at Glassie is brilliant, he just wants to nature return! Cheers - Rob
An update on this, yay! Glad to see everyone embrace their inner beaver in this video like you did in the previous one, looks fun! XD
This is brilliant! In the next few weeks I'll be writing up a guest blog about the need for riparian tree planting in the hills to get beavers up there for biodiversity, creating firebreaks, reducing the effects of drought and flooding downstream so this is highly relevant! Thanks.
Again, another big W for mossy earth. Keep it up can't wait to see the progress of this project
Thank you!! We can't too, as fun as it was building the dams, its all about their impact now! Cheers - Rob
I'm approaching a year as a member and every month this is the best money I could possibly spend. I love the videos, having this high quality feedback on what my small contribution is doing. You guys are great, and you could teach the major organisations a lot about how to make your contributors feel valued! Keep up the great work!
I love the beaver series (as in all the projects where they can have an impact). I guess it come from the fascination of building dams as a kid… Appreciate your work lots, thank you!
This one looks like there is a lot of potential! I’m excited to see all the new species and biodiversity:)
Great project. Sad to see so little life under those trees and amazing to see beaver rewilded one. Keep it up!
Love your work and the education you bring to us
Ah thank you very much, we're proud to do the work that we do. Cheers, Rob
It is crazy to me how small actions can make such an impact. Keep it going guys:)
Awesome, can't wait to see the willow's progress in the coming years :)
Yeah I'm really looking forward to seeing them come up, I've kept my eye on the location of a few of the shoots we put in! Cheers, Rob
Love this project, excited to see how it keeps progressing. Good to see everyone channeling their inner beaver as well! :)
I hope one day, I'll be able to show my love for this planet as much as you guys do.
Currently, all I can do is recycle. My city offers free recycling for its citizens and I called them and made sure that the recycling does actually go to proper facilities. At the moment, this is all I can do with my situation, but soon, hopefully I can do something like join a project like this and be the hands that helps heal this planet.
You all are inspirational to me. Thank you.
got to spend a lot of time around beavers this summer... what inspiring little creatures
Thank you for help in restoring this planet!
We certainly try and do our bit, but it wouldn't be possible without our members of course! Cheers - Rob
You beavering away makes me happy and optimistic, despite all the bad news around. Perfect antidote for nihilism. Thank you!
This is so exciting!! I love seeing these follow-up videos where you continue working on the same area & we get a glimpse of the process made thus far 💚
Beavers are amazing… They create their own sources of food and ecosystem. Truly remarkable..
We're all behind you in spirit and while I can't support any _cause_ these days, I try to live minimally, but more importantly, I avoid wastefulness - as it simply waste, particularly unnatural waste, pollutes our homes (internally and externally).
Thanks for being heroes. I hope to be like you guys, working hard to help restore ecosystems.
Eu adoro os vossos vídeos ❤, gostava muito de ver um “uptade” deste projeto mais tarde.
Amazing work you did there! But let me just say, do not underestimate beavers. Recently one was found in Poland at a mountain lake at 1395 m elevation in Tatra mountains. It was spending the winter there. Unfortunately it was later found dead cause it fell from a higher up place which looked to be 2110 m elevation. The local scientists are still scratching their heads at how this fella even got there. Suffice to say, they can climb high if they want, so I hope you will find some beavers soon in that part of the river❤
I think the problem here is less elevation, and more the lack of trees. Beavers need nearby trees in order to build their dams. The nears trees to that location are too far away for a beaver to feel safe building a dam.
I really wish we had an orginazation like you guys here in America, but I love learning about the native ecosystems in Europe!!
Keep it up guys :)!
OMG!!! This is exactly what i want to do when i grow older. This looks so freaking cool. I am starting my education next year at the university of Utrecht for biology and watching these video's are motivating me so much. I love what you guys do and i would love to help. If you guys ever need help with little projects, hit me up please!!!
I saw on your site that you are looking for a video editor but i am not experienced enough yet, but i am currenly working for my brother with some editing projects so i could maybe help in the future :)). I love what you guys do, please keep it up!!!
I think you will find the transformation in a couple of years will be amazing
It’s lovely to see children involved in this work
I love to see your work as always !
Thank you! Appreciate the support, Rob
My occasional dose of soothing to the soul and keeping my sanity film material.
This is one video I've been keen to see the outcome of. Glad you got permission to build the dams
To answer people asking why you didn't just introduce beavers into this degraded habitat, it was done before and deemed a complete failure. In America, they tried air-dropping beavers into degraded habitats with the hopes that they would repair it, but the land was so degraded that the beavers had little success in making dams and faced extreme pressure from predation without having an established dam to take refuge. Beavers are highly social, and multiple generations will live together in one dam with the young ones learning building skills from their elders. They have terrible success rates when introduced alone in unestablished land.
Creating analogue beaver damns can significantly increase the survival rates of beaver reintroduction because it creates a foundation for them to build upon. For humans it would be the equivalent of trying to build a home where the foundation and frame were already established versus trying to build from bare ground.
Good work beaver folk!
Thank you!! Hopefully we did the beavers proud. Cheers, Rob
@@MossyEarth I'm sure you've earned their stamp of approval. When young I worked on research projects in Baja & in Wyoming, also protested & conducted Nature walks to preserve parts of the Santa Monica Mtns in California, as wild lands. I happily watch your efforts.
I'm 70 now, and content to putter around on my very rural small retirement acreage. Located in the foothills of the Cascades in SW Washington state I'm only 2 miles from the vast Gifford Pinchot National Forest. There is tree farming, but also farmland & old hippies like me: content with an orchard, a few gardens, and a few critters, most of my 12 acres is natural woods & meadows. Neighborhood kiddos who earn money helping with chores on Saturday also learn animal husbandry, foraging, respect for Nature, and safety.
Good on you Julien. I don't know if it's different there but here in the US not very many of the land owners care very much for re-Wilding
I wish one day i could join you guys to do this amazing job to make our world heal.❤
So nice to see this before and after of these videos, I love seeing these ecosystems recover ❤
I wish I could buy such a big piece of neglected land and restore / tranform it. Having a whole cumminity jumping in to action really restores some faith in humanity! I love it.
Thank you for your wonderful incredible and desperately needed work!! I wish you the utmost success! I am also greatly blessed and encouraged by your videos, my friend!
Willow is amazing at taking root. About 60 years ago the village I was raised in there was a small stream running through a meadow. One of the farm workers felled some willows and even split some into quarters to make some fence posts to create a stream side fence. Almost all of then took root and a few years later there was an avenue of willows across the meadow.
Good work! Beaver habitats often clash with human habitats, so it's good to see them returning to a place where they can just be beavers.
This looks like an incredibly fun thing to do - as a kid, I always enjoyed playing in the creek and building little dams with stones.
Thanks for being excited, meticulous, and professional about a long term goal that really matters.
Looks like a lot of fun beavering around. Interested to see how quickly the landscape changes as a result. Great work team!
Suggestion for bonus income: collect the pine needles for acidic mulch and sell it... it's quite good for crops that like acid like blueberries...
Ok well this is something I did not know! I better get started with some blueberries. Cheers - Rob
i cant wait to see the final result!! ♥ your work is incredible!
I love makes dams! Would love to make some in the Netherlands
Yeah they're really cool and I'm excited to see their impacts to Glassie - Cheers, Rob
I'm excited to see how this project evolves over time!
This is so great to see. It always amazes me the amount of work it takes to replicate what animals do for ecosystems just by instinct.
love to see this, love seeing your excitement in presenting and in talking about beavers!
For anyone needing more beaver, I can highly recommend the "Beaver Pond Wildlife" series by the channel New England Forests. It's so so so good. Also I love Mossy Earth!
You guys are like the avengers for nature! Tysm for all y'all do
Great work, thanks for helping the local eco systems.
Any plans for projects in Canada? Would love to get involved!
We certainly wouldn't be apposed to having projects in Canada! Potentially one day. Cheers, Rob
Its so great to restore nature to its supposed form, thank you guys!
Watched your amazing video about rewilding an abandoned quarry, amazing vid, and i was wondering if you guys would like to take on a similar project in Spain in the city of Malaga to the south. The quarry is way smaller but it acumulates water and you can sometimes see amphibians and other creatures in the water that is stored there. If you guys cant do it theres no problem, I still love the videos that you make but would love to see some action in my home town that has been going through a drought recently.
Sorry if the english is bad im a bit rusty.
Hi Benjamin, please send an email with this idea through our website. Our biologists might be able to add it to the list. However, the list is long and its tricky to prioritise! Thank you for your idea :) - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Thanks guys i will try to send it on a couple of days :)
Incredible work, beavers would be proud
Just wondering if the deer can jump over those fences where those new young trees are growing?
If so, you might want to paint the fence white because white colour scares them off (or that's what I have been told :) )
Anyways, Thanks for putting so much effort in these projects. Restoring the planet piece by piece is a tedious task but it will pay off in the long run. Keep up the good work and keep posting videos. Much love !
From viewing the trees they seem to be doing ok, so the fences must be working some what! We appreciate your support! Thank you - Rob
I would have thought the same. Deer can easily jump that height. Well they can, but they don’t like to jump into a small space, or at least that’s the theory behind it. Here we’re putting that theory to the test. As Rob says, they’re working so far, so let’s hope they keep holding them out. 👍
Sounds like a future experiment.
I have mossy earth vids burnt out...my first one was the mountains in Europe after the massive fires and the regrowth project you did...good going kids.. I'm very proud of you
I now know our planet is in safe young hands. .. blessings darlings......
Doing amazing work! So glad to see an update from here! And yay dams!
Thank you! Yeah it was great to see the dams finally being built and now I'm anticipating their impact! Fingers crossed they work well! Cheers - Rob
Hooray for the baby shrew and for these wonderful humans being so dedicated to our planet and all of her inhabitants. I also LOVE that there are little humans on site learning how to care for our planet. ❤🎉
Another fantastic example of how a great change starts with a simple idea
Thank you for all you guys do. This project is another amazing thing you guys are doing to help the land. Keep up the good work!
An excellent project with so much potential
It will be exciting to see the follow up videos
Love the update videos. Its great to start to see the results of earlier projects.
Awesomeness!!! I learned so much. Its nice to see young adults put into Practice the knowledge. I can't wait to see the update!!!
The first video was what got me hooked on this channel. It's wonderful to see the damns getting built
I didn't know beavers used stones for foundations! Amazing animals.
I am excited about your projects! Your channel is way underrated.
Thank you for your hard work! Amazing.
Thank you for the support! Cheers, Rob
Thank you for all you do! You give me hope that maybe we really can change things around for our planet! I worry a little less because of the very thoughtful and impactful work you do. Keep it up! ❤
This is honestly the best youtube channel that im glad im subcribed to.
Ah thank you very much! We appreciate the support, be sure to look into membership if you haven't already. Cheers - Rob
That one random beaver at the zoo: look at what they need to mimic a fraction of our power
Amazing i dream if a time where deer and sheep populations are decreased and native woodland returns to these valleys. The british love for wide open landscape is like a nostalgia for the dust bowl. Good work guys!
I've been restoration 1st hand, some land purchased for public hunting around a creek. Took a few years but small trees grew and then beavers moved in. It's crazy how much this piece of land has changed just over ten years
Keep it up and nobody will stop you yes I am right because we love your content and we watch your contents
It makes my heart happy seeing work like this in Scotland after having walked 600 km of the Scottish National Trail across it.❤❤❤
Cool.
Beavers use more "mud" in there dams in Oregon and i guess all true beaver dams do.
All in all good job !
wow just discovered Mossy Earth great work y'all doing! some people don't understand it's not ideal to just introduce real beavers in an environment that is still quite hostile for their survival...
Just become a member today! Been watching the channel for over a year now!