A Quest in Cornwall

valeriehuggins0
Jun 7
6 min read

We set off, very appropriately, in an electric car to make a pilgrimage to Cornwall. We were visiting what has perhaps become a shrine to an environmental saviour, the beaver. The trip was arranged by the leaders of the Climate Action Group of the Teignmouth branch of the U3A, quite new to me. I had my usual apprehension about being with people I didn't know, but quickly discovered shared connections and common beliefs as the conversations flowed in the car. I soon felt a sense of belonging and gladness that I had taken the decision to join in the adventure.

The weather though was not very promising, a disappointment after the glorious sunshine of the days before. The rain and heavy cloud as we crossed the border into Cornwall was concerning, but by the time we arrived at Woodland Valley Farm, the home of the Cornwall Beaver Project, the sky was lighter.

We were warmly greeted by Chris Jones (and his friendly dogs!) whose family has owned the farm since the 1960's. As we walked slowly through the meadows in the late afternoon, he shared his journey as a beef farmer from the crisis of BSE, through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to the post-Brexit Environmental Land Management (ELM) Scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT)....................... a fascinating insight into the way that Government policy shapes practice and how farmers have to battle constantly for funding. It reminded me of the education sector, where there are similar issues with putting policy into practice. So many good intentions but lots of unintended outcomes.

But Chris is also a passionate advocate for learning from history and from research. The motto of the farm is ‘Live as if we’ll die tomorrow, but farm as if we’ll live forever’ and it is run on the principles of organic farming. The cows have a completely natural diet of grass in the meadows, and the nutrition in the soil is supplemented by the clovers and wild flowers. The farm is now introducing Silvo Pasture, creating a managed woodland pasture to enhance soil health and animal welfare. For me, this reinforced the tensions between the long-term nature of farming, looking generations ahead, and the short-termism of the political need for votes amid the increasingly fraught battle over Net Zero policies.

My head full, I stepped aside from the group, and looked around. A pair of swifts were dancing high then swooping low over the roofs of the farm buildings. The seeded grasses gently swaying were soft to my fingertips. Small night moths flitted upwards from the grass as I walked through. A pair of skylarks flew over, protecting their nearby nest. Pink foxgloves were standing tall in the hedgerows. A few deep breaths of the fresh Cornish air. How lucky was I to be experiencing this.

This meadow was alive with insects, so heartening in a time of decline that is affecting food security. Chris pointed out some leaves that were lacy from the green dock beetle (and I began to regret not bringing my Canon!):

A stroll up the hill and there were the cows with their calves, contentedly munching. The overlooking wind turbine added to the picture of hope for the future:

Chris then moved the fence, as they do each day, and the herd rushed to enjoy the pleasure of a new section of pasture:

After a quick picnic tea in the barn, Chris gave us a powerful talk about the beavers, with the help of a stuffed beaver called Trevor!. Over 26 acres of the farm are made up of streams, ponds and wetland devoted to wildlife. In 2017, two beavers were introduced in an enclosed area on the farm - watch this video to see what happened then.

The history of humanity's interaction with beavers over the centuries since the 1500s is shocking. The desire for beaver pelts and meat almost leading to their extinction, but now due to reintroduction initiatives across Europe, the species is rebounding. The details of their anatomy were also fascinating: they have a transparent third eyelid to protect their eyes when they are swimming, can stay underwater for fifteen minutes and have a special toenail for grooming. Their fur is naturally waterproof and soooo soft to the touch.

At last it was time to head out to see the beavers. Following the stream into the enclosure, we soon saw the tell-tale signs of the beavers' presence: hour-glass shaped bases of trunks, stripped and gnawed bark, piles of wood by the banks:

The impact of the beavers on the stream is astonishing. They have built two lodges, several dams and created new streams and ponds, thereby improving the health of the water and slowing the flow. A keystone species, their creation of this wetland has also increased the range and numbers of other species, from willow tit to pole-cat to water shrew. Becky, a volunteer from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust joined us with her bat-monitoring device and talked to us about they have detected 11 out of the 18 native UK bat species just in this area since the beavers have been introduced.

After a short walk around the lake, we settled down, waiting for dusk to fall. The earlier clouds had cleared, there was a little pink in the sky. The birds' final songs of the day in the air, midges dancing on the still waters, with the brown trout leaping up to catch them.

After the busyness of the past week it was a joy to just sit and be in this space:

I tracked the reflection of the moonrise in the water, realising that our window of opportunity was diminishing:

Each ripple from a fish provoked anticipation that it might be a beaver.................

but sadly, no. We did not see them. We did agree though that it had been a magical experience and well worth the journey.

We got back late to our hotel, one of a national chain. And there I was faced with the usual plea to save water by not requesting a daily towel change to help the environment. But the notice sat alongside the tray of plastic sachets of milk and coffee, and the next morning at breakfast, the plastic packets of butter, preserves, honey, yogurt etc etc were everywhere. I thought of the hotel in Paris from the week before, part of a chain which puts reducing its ecological impact at the heart of its offer, while also raising guests' awareness of sustainable tourism. A plastic-free buffet breakfast is possible!

So my quest in Cornwall for the elusive beavers has left me with even more questions. It was nearly 10 years ago that David and I produced the book 'Early Childhood Education and Care for Sustainability'. We noted that by the end of 2030, the period of the Sustainable Development Goals, the children then in the early stages of their education would be entering and engaging in adult life. We wondered then how well they would be prepared for their role as global citizens, future-oriented innovators, responsive to rapid change. We are now only four and a half years away from 2030. And it is hard to maintain the hope.

But reading this article by Isabelle Cockerell about 'beaver-bombing' - yes there is such a thing! - got me rethinking some of my impressions of the day at Woodland Valley Farm. Chris Jones has campaigned tirelessly for the reintroduction of the beavers. Starting in 2014, it took three years of work before he was allowed just two in 2017. Here we are in 2025 - and he still has only two, and they are still in an enclosure. This project, and many others across the UK, have proved the benefits and shown that any disadvantages can be addressed. A powerful example, in these times of increasing wildfires, is the report on the aftermath of the forest fires in Oregon in 2021, that shows how the beaver wetlands acted as a natural firebreak and subsequently cleaned the ash-infused waters. Derek Gow, another Devon farmer and radical rewilder, thinks that the time has passed for doing things slowly. Maybe going rogue is the answer!

A visit to the Eden Project the following day was an interesting contrast. Opened in 2021, its core environmental messages about the interconnectedness of life, the importance of the natural world, and the need for positive action are still relevant, but is just walking around the biomes and enjoying the plants, really provoking people into the radical change in their behaviours that is needed? Or is this now just another commercial venture, encouraging consumerism to ensure its sustainability?

I pondered this as I marvelled at the patterns and colours in the myriad of wonderful plants on display from around the world: