Beaver Island

 Update on the Floating Island concept

In the last few years I have noticed a number of beaver rat traps on the lake where my boat was moored. I even met a hunter who was checking these traps, but that was three years ago now. After the floods this winter I found two of these traps overturned on the lake side. One was located near what looks like a beaver’s lodge located on a small island. I am not sure if the beaver rats have been eradicated from the area, but it seems clear that a number of beavers are now busy eating their way through the willow trees!

 

Recently I have been working on a project with Mosa Pura to catch plastic waste, which flows down the Maas during winter flooding. I have built a number of different models using willow and alder branches in the hope of copying the effect of riverbank trees, which get covered in wastes and cause an unsightly less every year. The solutions involve building floating islands of branches that theoretically catch the wastes and can then be easily removed after the floods, which should avoid the problem of waste getting caught up in the trees. They also provide ideal nesting spots for ducks and I hope will address a number of other river-related problems using natural materials.

The problem I discovered is that the beavers love my floating islands of willows branches and have eaten most of them! Obviously I have to rethink my plans. My improved island must be enclosed by netting in order to deter the beavers!