Beavers in Paradise

On Thursday 25th July we had a very exciting premiere event of our film Beavers in Paradise by award-winning wildlife filmmaker Matt Brierley at Picturehouse Ealing.

The film tells the story of the Ealing Beaver Project (EBP) from conception through to our family of Eurasian Beavers arriving at Paradise Fields from Scotland and what they have been up to since. It’s a celebration and testament to the unwavering support and incredible effort of our community and hardworking volunteers.

The cinema was packed out as all tickets sold out days in advance, and the reception was overwhelmingly positive. But don’t take our word for it, hear what some of the audience had to say…

“The film is a visual delight, full of beaver loveliness, and captures the inspirational community effort that made the project possible.” ~ Cathy Gilman

“Beavers in Paradise is set to tour several prestigious wildlife film festivals and conferences, and is guaranteed to capture the hearts of audiences far and wide telling the tale of how Beavers came to live in our very own Paradise Fields in Greenford. We’ve come such a long way from that night when we said ‘Wouldn’t it be great to reintroduce Beavers in our borough’ ” ~ Councillor Aysha Raza

“A powerful snapshot behind the scenes of the project. Not only is it moving, visually beautiful and inspirational, but it gives an insight into the gargantuan efforts to lead up to (and during and after) the Beavers release. Most importantly, the film really lands the message around the importance and scale of impact this project will have, celebrating the vital role of volunteers and communities in enabling nature to peacefully coexist and actually improve our urban environments. SO BRILLIANT! I cried and I was proud. A TEXTBOOK panel. Very articulate, informative, relaxed and entertaining!” ~ Lucinda Darby

“A beautifully crafted film showing the hard work and dedication that has gone into making the Ealing Beaver Project a reality. The expert panel led an insightful discussion on the challenges the project has faced and the vision for the future.” ~ Alex Worsey, EWG Biodiversity Data Officer

“Beavers in Paradise is an inspiring testament to the incredible impact that one small species can have on our environment. The film not only educates us on the vital role Beavers play in shaping and sustaining ecosystems but also challenges our perceptions about wildlife. The Q&A session was a fantastic extension, turning information into action and showing how community efforts can drive real change. It’s a fun yet profound reminder of the importance of fighting against speciesism and ignorance. The work presented in this film highlights how much can be achieved with passion and dedication in a short time. Kudos to everyone involved for their amazing contribution to both education and conservation!” ~ Sabrina Bravi, EWG Events Officer

If you missed this screening opportunity, we will be hosting an online screening with a special guest MC and a live panel discussion with Q&A afterwards for you to get your questions answered. Watch out for the date in early September. The film will later be available to watch on our brand spanking, shiny new website. If you haven’t had a peek yet check it out here: https://theealingbeaverproject.com/.

We’ve deliberately held off on many aspects of the EBP, including promoting or sharing Beaver footage too much outside of our EWG community. This was always to allow the Beavers to settle in and get to work creating the safety and security they needed to feel protected in their new habitat. We also wanted to make sure the project was going as planned before committing to expensive capital expenses such as the brand new volunteer welfare cabin that was recently installed and the soon-to-come gorgeous new interpretive signage to be erected on site.

We felt now was a good time to go live with our new all-singing, all-dancing website and start to make a splash on a bigger scale about the project. Huge thanks go to EBP Tech Lead, Abhilesh Dhawanjewar, and Nadya Mirochnitchenko, EWG Ecologist and EBP Project Coordinator, for their tireless efforts in creating such a beautiful new website to showcase the project. We hope you enjoy it; do check back as there will be more and more content added in the coming weeks, including a very exciting announcement!

A special thanks also to our good friends at Consano Earth for their generous sponsorship for the film and part of our onsite signage.

Sean McCormack
EWG Founder and Chair