About the event

The River Glaven is one of the world's precious chalk streams supporting species such as water voles, white-clawed crayfish and Norfolk hawker dragonflies. Despite its ecological importance, the Glaven faces serious threats from pollution, climate change and over-abstraction.

In September 2021, a pair of native Eurasian beavers were released by the Norfolk Rivers Trust. Beavers are known as ‘ecosystem engineers’, restoring ecological balance by building dams that improve water quality through pollution retention, boosting groundwater infiltration, regulating water temperatures and mitigating flooding and droughts and creating diverse wetland habitats that support a variety of wildlife. 

This illuminating talk by Ursula Juta, Senior Project Officer with the Norfolk Rivers Trust, sets out the challenges and successes of this important re-introduction.