Beavers build it better: Wetland life returns to paradise fields

London: For years, heavy rain meant flooding around Greenford tube station, leaving Ealing Council facing costly drainage works. The solution arrived on four legs — and it was free.

Beavers reintroduced to Paradise Fields in 2023 have halted the flooding, according to England’s first urban beaver officer, Şeniz Mustafa. “I just can’t believe how much they’ve done in a short period of time, they basically said ‘step aside, humans’,” Mustafa told Positive News. “Even in situations like on Monday, where there was really heavy rainfall, the area didn’t flood.”

The rodents were released into the 10-hectare stretch of land in Ealing borough some 400 years after being hunted to local extinction in England. Since then, they’ve built a series of dams that reengineered the landscape around Greenford, slowing water flow and storing runoff that once overwhelmed local streets.

The impact goes beyond flood control. “We’ve had four new species in the last 11 months alone,” Mustafa said. Sticklebacks now swim alongside dragonflies and damselflies. Tadpoles, freshwater shrimp, and toads have also appeared. “None of that would have happened without beavers.”

The project shows how reintroducing a native species can tackle modern infrastructure problems while boosting urban biodiversity — no concrete required.