Wildlife lovers have the chance to Adopt-a-Beaver this Christmas.

Devon Wildlife Trust leads England’s only wild beaver re-introduction project, on east Devon’s River Otter. The project receives no government funding, relying on donations from people who care about wildlife and are enthusiastic about Devon’s wild beavers.

This month, the charity has launched the Adopt-a-Beaver scheme to help raise funds for the River Otter Beaver Trial. The five year trial is scheduled to run until 2020, working to gather evidence on the beavers’ impacts on the landscape and wildlife, infrastructure and farm businesses in the Otter valley. Introduction of further beavers into the river system is also covered by the project licence from Natural England.

Each virtual adoption includes a soft toy beaver wearing a Devon Wildlife Trust ‘Beavers are Back’ T-shirt. The charity’s Dan Smith explains: “The beaver soft toy is modelled on the project mascot, Nora, whose name was chosen in a public competition by a shop-owner in Sidmouth. These beaver soft toys are unique to Devon Wildlife Trust and the River Otter Beaver Trial and are not available anywhere else.”

Adopt-a-Beaver packs are available for children and adults for £30. All packs include the unique-to-Devon beaver soft toy but children’s packs also feature a beaver quiz, word-search, maze and colouring sheet.

For an additional £10, the pack also includes a beaver wood chip, gnawed from a Devon tree by one of the beavers living in the county. These wood chips - which come with a card of authenticity in a presentation box - have been collected from a site where Devon beavers are active.

These unique Devon gifts support what Chris Packham has described as “one of the most exciting conservation projects of the 21st century”, the River Otter Beaver Trial.

DWT’s Dan Smith said: “It’s heartening to see the continued enthusiasm for Devon’s beavers, more than two years after DWT first re-introduced beavers back on to the river after their health screening. Again this year, dozens of wildlife watchers gathered on the River Otter’s footpaths on summer evenings to spot parent beavers swimming with their new-born kits. Adopt-a-Beaver packs and Devon beaver wood chips are the ideal gifts for anyone who wants to see these charismatic mammals thriving in our countryside.” 

Beaver gifts are available from www.devonwildlifetrust.org/support-devon-beavers or by calling 01392 279244 or calling in to DWT’s headquarters at Cricklepit Mill in Exeter, on a weekday. 

 

River Otter beaver kits - Photo copyright Mike Symes.(All Rights Reserved)

The Bike Shed Cafe, Barnstaple has been shortlisted for Feed With Confidence Award

The Bike Shed Cafe in Barnstaple has been shortlisted for a national breastfeeding award by local mothers. The awards have been designed  by Lansinoh to celebrate places and people across the country supporting breastfeeding mums.    

One mum who nominated the cafe said: The bike shed is a cafe for bike enthusiast primarily however they have a very spacious cafe and me and my mum friends often meet there for coffee and can freely breastfeed our babies. The staff help move things around and welcome us all with all of our prams and everything else you need to lug around with a baby! We would be lost without this place! 

 In 2015, 776,950 babies were born in the UK. Yet just 0.5% of UK mums are breastfeeding their newborn at 12 months, despite recommendations from the World Health Organisation to continue breastfeeding into your baby's second year. With British breastfeeding rates among the worst in the world, could the culprit be society's attitudes towards breastfeeding? 

To understand if there is a stigma attached to breastfeeding in public, Lansinoh conducted research to gauge public opinion. The new research quashed common misconceptions, revealing that the over 65s are the most accepting and that men are more comfortable with it than women. Witnessing a woman breastfeeding in a café, restaurant or pub was uncomfortable for an average of 46% of people. Despite the most comfortable public spaces being revealed as the great outdoors, a surprising percentage of people still felt uncomfortable at the park (17%) and beach (16%).

The Feed With Confidence Awards recognise people and places that help to support mums and positively change perceptions. The awards are supported by the Lansinoh Feed With Confidence Ambassador: Al Ferguson of The Dad Network.

Tap here for further information about the Feed with Confidence Awards

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The Bike Shed Cafe, The Square, Barnstaple EX32 8LS

Wild About Watercolour. Devon watercolour artist Karen Thomas wins coveted industry award

Devon watercolour artist Karen Thomas has won a coveted industry award for her beautiful painting Shades of Gold. Judges of the PaintersOnline 50th anniversary competition awarded Karen the Summer painting prize for her intimate portrait of a handsome Bengal tiger at rest.

Karen, who lives in rural North Devon, is best known for her lively watercolour paintings of hares and the majority of her work, in demand at art fairs and galleries throughout the West Country, focuses on local landscape and wildlife. However, Shades of Gold is part of a body of work taking a step in a wilder direction, inspired by Karen’s developing relationship with Dartmoor Zoo.

Karen says “Friends of mine visited Dartmoor Zoo and, being keen photographers who know I paint animals, forwarded me some very inspiring images. I sent a painting to them as a thank you, which Benjamin (the Zoo’s owner) saw and loved, and he asked that I contact him. Benjamin gave me a tour of the zoo, meeting the animals and teaching me how to engage with them. He described their personalities to me, which is very important to me as I try to reflect that in my painting. Over several visits with sketchbook and camera, I enjoyed spending time there getting to know the animals better and produced a series of paintings. My award winning painting, ’Shades of Gold’ was inspired by that period of time.

“The painting was a culmination of all the exposure to endangered animals at the zoo. I wanted it to be moodier in feel than my usual work and to convey a sense of the connection I felt while getting to know such animals. Eye contact with a Bengal tiger is such an electrifying experience - it’s hard to describe but you’ve never felt more ’seen’. A stillness descends. It’s a bit like falling in love. I felt no threat, only a connection, but I was still grateful for the fence!”

Karen says that winning the award was a total surprise and a sheer delight. Painters-Online are responsible for The Artist magazine and Leisure Painter magazine, two publications who create valuable content for artists and serve as a pulse on the UK world of art. Karen feels that winning the award is confirmation that, as an emerging artist, she is headed in the right direction.

Karen has just taken up a new studio space at the beautiful Kigbeare Studios and Gallery near Okehampton at the edge of Dartmoor. She will be moving in this November just in time for the Kigbeare Christmas Open Studio where visitors will be welcome to chat to Karen about her work and buy direct from the studio. You can see more of Karen’s watercolour work on her website www.karenthomaswatercolour.com where you can also find out information about upcoming exhibitions and where to buy original paintings as well as prints and cards produced from her delightful paintings.

Shades of Gold - An intimate portrait of a handsome Bengal tiger at rest

Karen Thomas Watercolour Animal Paintings and Nature Inspired Art