AtkinsRéalis animation captures beaver activity reducing flood and drought impact

Spains Hall Estate in Essex worked with the Environment Agency in 2019 to release the first pair of beavers in East Anglia for more 400 years. With free reign across a 10-acre woodland stream, the beaver family, now numbering 11, have created nine dams which are estimated to store 3 million litres of water in ponds covering almost a quarter of the woodland.

As part of the project AtkinsRéalis created an animation revealing the scale and speed of the changes occurring over five years. Data collected by Kings College London demonstrates that the way water flows across the farm has also changed, with the beavers increasingly building bigger dams to trap more water each time it rains.

These changes mean that storm water now flows downstream more slowly, some even being held for several months as it’s slowly released back into the river, helping alleviate low river water levels in summer.

Matt Butcher, Environment Agency Catchment Manager, said: “We are delighted that the beavers have thrived and improved the landscape. Their work has demonstrated that nature-based solutions can be used to tackle challenges in smaller river catchments. We initially supported this work as a pilot study and have been really impressed with the results. We have since helped the estate scale up their beaver activity through more direct support, along with other partners, which has enabled the construction of two much larger beaver enclosures.”

Click here for animation developed by AtkinsRéalis to illustrate how beavers on Spains Hall Estate have impacted water levels over five years, through the development of natural dams and ponds.

Molly Howell, Assistant Environmental Scientist at AtkinsRéalis  said: “The animation is such a powerful tool to convey a dramatic change in a simple way. The chance to track beaver-led changes over such a long time has been a great opportunity for us. It means we have real-life insights which we can use to support both Spains Hall Estate and their partners, but also bring to our wider work. It’s a great example of how we’re able to use digital tools within a natural environment to enhance our understanding of what’s happening on the ground, and use that data to better inform how we support the project.”

Archie Ruggles-Brise, Spains Hall Estate Manager, said: “This is a massive milestone for us. We took a chance five years ago that bringing beavers back would be beneficial, and it’s proven to be better than we could ever have imagined. Locally there is widespread support for the beavers and their work, with the community really taking them to their heart. You can even find beaver greetings cards, beaver beer and beaver-themes on local menus!”

ENDS

About AtkinsRéalis 

Created by the integration of long-standing organizations dating back to 1911, AtkinsRéalis is a world-leading professional services and project management company dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital. The breadth and depth of our capabilities are delivered to clients in strategic sectors such as Engineering Services in key regions (Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Asia, the Middle East and Australia), Nuclear and Capital. News and information are available at www.atkinsrealis.com or follow us on LinkedIn. 

About Spains Hall Estate

The estate are currently using 500 hectares of in hand land to pioneer a fully holistic example of Sustainable Land Stewardship. This is being done by creating the largest agro-forestry system in the UK, a holistic-on-farm water management system and a social and research enterprise and innovation hub. All of which has biodiversity gain. Covering 830 hectares (around 2,000 acres) of northwest Essex, Spains Hall Estate comprises of a mixture of arable land, ancient and broadleaved woodland, grassland, tenanted farms, and a ground-breaking beaver and natural flood management project.  Since 2018, the estate’s current custodian, Archie Ruggles-Brise, has reshaped its direction towards a nature-first approach and is repurposing the land towards a more environmentally sustainable future. The estate’s in hand agricultural land is managed as part of the Government’s Environmental Stewardship Scheme and the woodland is part of an ongoing forestry management regime. Through this work, we aim to enhance wildlife and biodiversity and protect our natural resources. For more information, please visit www.spainshallestate.co.uk