We’re kicking off Series 8 of The Lodge Cast with Tom Bowser, author of two brilliant books and owner of Argaty Red Kites.

The first private landowner in Scottish history to legally release beavers into the wild, Tom shares how life on the farm has transformed since the animals were released in 2021. He also steps into the judge's seat for our first 'fact-off' of the series, but does our new co-host, Alana, manage to secure a win?

In this episode, we explore:

🌱 The "oasis in the desert": How beavers seem to have provided an answer for every climate extreme thrown at the farm, from record-breaking heatwaves to relentless wet winters.

🌱 Reversing shifting baselines syndrome and normalising reintroduced species and wildness for the next generation

🌱 How beaver-engineered "lag time" has saved the farm thousands of pounds in flood repairs by protecting vital tracks and infrastructure.

We also discuss the pioneering riparian tree-planting trial taking place on the farm, if tree planting can take place in the presence of this returned native herbivore, and how many of the 56,000 trees planted beavers have claimed.

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 Emily Bowen and Alana Skilbeck, produced and edited by Emma Brisdion and mixed by Mark Skinner for Beaver Trust.

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.

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.

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.