The family – of beavers – now have more space to roam in an expanded enclosure at Archers Wood in Forty Hall — and anyone can watch them on a hidden camera.
“The beaver family is doing so well,” Enfield Council deputy leader Tim Leaver said. “We welcome the public into the heart of their enclosure.”
The move is part of a £50,000 urban ‘rewilding’ scheme to extend the beaver enclosure undertaken by Capel Manor College.
The size the original six-acre enclosure has been increased one hectare, about the size of a rugby field, with the extra space helping a growing family of beavers to improve wildlife habitats.
The project follows the arrival of a new baby beaver, known as a kit, bringing the number of creatures in the enclosure to eight.
Capel Manor’s principal Peter Brammall said: “Seeing the beaver family thriving shows how ‘rewilding’ projects can transform landscapes and reconnect people with nature, right on their doorstep here in Enfield.”
The growing family show signs of dam-building, coppicing and increased biodiversity.
Visitors to Archers Wood can now explore the area with new footpaths to a signposted ‘beaver trail’ and viewing platform. A ‘beaver camera’ has also been installed to observe the family without disturbing their habitat.
Forty Hall Farm is starting guided education tours of the enclosure at the end of the month to learn more about the beavers, their ecological impact.
The restoration project is part of the Enfield Chase landscape restoration scheme, one of the largest rewilding programmes in London.
Beavers were reintroduced to Enfield when a male and female pair were released into the enclosure at Forty Hall Farm in 2002, marking their return to London after 400 years.
Beavers are known for their dam-building and tree-felling, which creates and restores wetland habitats. This in turn slows down water flow, increases water retention and attracts other wildlife.
The beaver family at Forty Hall Farm are helping the natural flood management to reduce downstream flooding.
