For this episode, Eva and Emily are joined by Billy Heaney, zoologist and wildlife guide, to learn more about the relationship between beavers and birds, from the river margins and beaver ponds up to the tree canopy and beyond.

Birds are key indicators of environmental health, and changes in their populations can often signal wider shifts happening in an ecosystem. In this episode, you can find out more about: 🪶 What opportunities and challenges beaver-engineered wetlands create for bird species 🪶 Why birds respond so quickly to beaver activity, and what that tells us about ecosystem recovery 🪶 What role humorous storytelling can play in connecting people to nature and conservation

Want to discuss anything from this episode or the series with our expert team? We want to hear from you: @BeaverTrust.

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The Lodge Cast is a mixture of fact and opinion. It was hosted by Eva Bishop and Emily Bowen, produced and edited by Emma Brisdion and mixed by Mark Skinner for Beaver Trust.

We’re joined by Professor Nigel Willby and Patrick Cook, an ecologist and PhD student, from the University of Stirling, to explore the species group at the base of any food chain: plants 🌱

Nigel and Patrick help us unpack:

🌿 What long-term research from Bamff reveals about how beaver activity boosts plant diversity, including a 46% increase in species richness and dramatic rises in habitat “messiness”.

🌿 How beavers create dynamic, ever-changing landscapes through felling, browsing, digging and even dredging hidden seed banks.

🌿 The pollinator plants that thrive in beaver wetlands, from water mint to creeping thistle.

🌿 How the risk of beaver activity compares to human influence on the spread of invasive and non-native plant species.

We also look at the willow–beaver “partnership”, the curious items tucked into beaver dams and Patrick’s research, which found nutrient-rich, decaying plant materials in beaver canals create a 119% increase in hoverflies.

Want to discuss anything from this episode or the series with our expert team? We want to hear from you: @BeaverTrust.

Want more beaver? Please subscribe and leave us a review so we can bring the world of beavers to more ears.

The Lodge Cast is a mixture of fact and opinion. It was hosted by Eva Bishop and Emily Bowen, produced and edited by Emma Brisdion and mixed by Mark Skinner for Beaver Trust.

This week, we chat with Anne Goodenough, Professor of Applied Ecology at the University of Gloucestershire, about the fascinating relationship between beavers and bats.

In this episode, we explore:

🦇 How beaver wetlands act as an "all you can eat buffet" or an "all-inclusive resort" for insectivorous bats.

🦇 Bat species in Britain, and which benefit the most from beaver activities.

🦇 Why bats are a crucial indicator of a healthy ecosystem.

We also discuss the findings of her recent research with Claire Graham, which found 200% higher species richness and 800% higher abundance of aquatic macro-invertebrates in beaver-modified environments.

Want to discuss anything from this episode or the series with our expert team? We want to hear from you: @BeaverTrust.

Want more beaver? Please subscribe and leave us a review so we can bring the world of beavers to more ears.

The Lodge Cast is a mixture of fact and opinion. It was hosted by Eva Bishop and Emily Bowen, produced and edited by Emma Brisdion and mixed by Mark Skinner for Beaver Trust.