If you’re an eager beaver you can help raise cash to bring back an endearing former resident.

The Cornwall Beaver Project, run by the charity Cornwall Wildlife Trust, has launched a ‘Name the Beaver’ competition.

In the wake of work in Devon, the Trust and Woodland Valley Farm plan to bring Eurasian beavers back to Cornwall where they were hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago.

Farmer Chris Jones, whose land lies upstream of Ladock, a village that has been hit by flooding, plans to release two beavers into a fenced enclosure along a small stream.  

Experts in dealing with flood risk at the University of Exeter have studied the land, and believe by building dams the beavers will naturally slow the flow of water that could otherwise flood areas downstream.

The researchers will monitor the impact of the beavers on flooding and the quality of water being released, drawing on expertise gained from monitoring the release of Eurasian beavers at a site in Devon. The fenced project hopes to show beavers can help create new wildlife habitat, make streams cleaner and help to reduce flooding.

The Trust says it needs to raise at least £15,000 over the next six weeks, which they hope to do through their campaign at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/cornwallbeaver.

Trustee Dee Reeves said: ‘We have two adult beavers, one male, one female and they will need names. We have launched the ‘Name the Beaver’ competition as a bit of fun to help raise funds for the project. For a donation of £25 our supporters can enter two names. The project team will whittle these down to 10 then we’ll ask the public to vote for their favourites through our Facebook and Twitter pages.’

Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/cornwallbeaver to... lodge your suggestions.

Picture: Nick Upton