Enfield’s growing beaver family gives nature more room

Enfield’s beaver family is growing. New kits have brought the colony at Forty Hall Farm to at least 11 animals, four years after beavers were reintroduced there.

Enfield Council and Capel Manor College manage the project at Archers Wood. By building dams and creating wetlands, the animals make habitat for other wildlife and slow the movement of water through the landscape.

There is evidence for that approach elsewhere. Research reported by the University of Exeter in 2024 found beaver wetlands in Devon reduced storm flows by an average of 30%. That is a Devon result, not a measured reduction for Enfield.

The local project is also helping children discover nature close to home. Members of the 4th Enfield Beavers recently visited the site and its new viewing platform. Although the animals stayed hidden, monitoring footage showed them felling trees, building dams and foraging.

A growing colony and a place for young people to learn: this small patch of Enfield is giving wildlife, and curiosity, room to thrive.

Sources

• Enfield Dispatch — beaver colony update, 29 September 2026
• University of Exeter — research on beavers and water flows, May 2024