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.