Derbyshire Wildlife Trusts appeal to bring back the beaver
The Trust is appealing to its supporters to help bring beavers back to the Trent Valley’s Willington Wetlands reserve for the first time in 800 years. This is part of the Trust’s plans to create a nature recovery network which will extend and improve its Willington Wetlands reserve for more wildlife and visitors to enjoy.
In time, the beavers will create dams to slow the flow of water through the Egginton brook, diverting it onto the wet meadows of the reserve and away from the village of Willington. As well as creating natural flood defences, plants and healthier soils will absorb more carbon and help to reduce its impact on our rapidly changing climate.
The reserve, a former gravel extraction site, is already very popular with bird watchers. The Trust also has plans to extend the reserve, create a new circular footpath with a bridge connecting Willington to the Trent and Mersey canal through the reserve, new wildlife watching screens, hides and information for visitors. This means more people will be able to enjoy the reserve and its wildlife throughout the year.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s CEO Dr Jo Smith said; “This is one of our biggest and most exciting appeals yet – the potential benefits for our wildlife and communities are huge. With people’s help, we will bring beavers back and rewild the much loved reserve at Willington to create a wilder future for Derbyshire. Beavers are fantastic, eco-engineers and a natural solution to help slow the flow of water, reduce flooding risk and enrich habitat for more of our precious wildlife.”
This is the latest in a number of plans to reintroduce beavers to specific areas the UK and several areas including Cornwall and Devon have already seen the benefits of slowing the flow of water after heavy rainfall and a positive impact on the local economy from nature tourism.
Derbyshire’s beavers will be contained within the reserve and money will be raised to create and maintain a secure fence around the area.
The crowdfunder appeal includes a number of options for donors, from a children’s colouring activity and certificate for £5, a foot of fence to keep the beavers safely contained on the reserve for £25 and an invite to the release event for £50. People can follow updates about the campaign on the website and #BackTheBeaver #WilderWillington.
More News From Amber Valley Info
| The dazzling Darley Park Concert returns this summer The Darley Park Concert will return in 2026, marking the grand finale of The Darley Park Weekender. This summer tradition invite read more | |
| DLRAA Receives Donation From Ripley Tuesday Club 2026 On Tuesday 20th January 2026 Ripley Tuesday Club donated £292.72 for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulan read more | |
| Holocaust Memorial Avenue extended with new tree planting at Alfreton Park The Holocaust Memorial Avenue at Alfreton Welfare Recreation Ground has been extended with new tree planti read more | |
| Community power secures future for Nature and People at Middleton Moor Community power secures future for Nature and People at Middleton Moor Thanks to the extraordinary generosity read more | |
| More help for residents to get online and go digital across Derbyshire A £50,000 funding boost will help Derbyshire residents get online, stay connected and access vital servi read more | |
The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
| Stallholder Bookings Now Open For The Tansley Big Day Out We're excited to announce that Tansley's Big Day Out 2026 will take place on 6th & 7th June 2026! read more | |
| Christmas and New Year bin collection dates Over the festive season, bin collections will operate on revised schedules. Some collections may take place up to two days earlier than u read more | |
| Launch Of WOMBLE MANIA! At the Heights of Abraham, Opened by Marcus Robertson, Son of Wombles author, Elisabeth Beresford, officially launched WOMBLE MANIA! at the Heights of Abraha read more | |
| Belper School and Sixth Form Centre Closed Today Due to a significant water leak, resulting in the water being turned off at school, we unfortunately have to close the school today. read more | |
| When you need to call 999 but can't talk When you need to call 999 but can't talk - the ‘silent solution’ can help. Press 55 on your mobile when prompted, to confirm you are in read more | |
