Monday 5 January 2009

Cornish news

South west water are considering a trial to see if water quality can be improved ay Roadford reservoir devon/cornwall border by introducing beavers. Apparently their dams trap silt and act as a natural filter and as the beavers work 24hrs a day it is a sustainable source of clean water. The down side to this beavers do great damage to trees one source said that tree canopies will be reduced but any fallen trees would encourage new saplings to grow, and will be a much better wildlife environment when we have beavers around.. A spokesman for south west water said" If we don't do this we face more investment in concrete and chemicals as well as energy to provide clean water over the next 30 to 50 years" Well this has got to be a better solution than any chemicals surely?
Beavers were hunted to extinction in england and wales during the 12th century and disappeared from the rest of the country over 4ooyrs later. They were hunted for their fur and throat glands, which were said to have medicinal properties. Thankfully that has stopped now! Each creature has a useful part to play in nature in my opinion.

2 comments:

Tricia Ryder said...

If beavers can do the job then I'm of the school that says NO to concrete and chemicals. I appreciate there may be a downside, but if new trees take over it's def worth a go in my book!

avalon said...

Tricia: Quite agree with you remains to see if they pass the proposal i think scotland are trying it first in may so we wait to see