Into the field with students: BIBOB excursion to the beaver dams

On 22 October, 35 people, including around 20 students from TUD and CTU and the project teams from TUD, CTU, CZU, ALKA Wildlife and LPV Sächsische Schweiz - Osterzgebirge, spent a day learning how beavers shape water, landscapes and land use. The day linked classroom knowledge to what actually happens in the field.

Starting point: Bad Schandau (DE)
The day began at the National Park Centre Saxon Switzerland in Bad Schandau. After a warm welcome and a cup of coffee, presentations covered beaver biology, the benefits and conflicts of beaver dams, and the sites and activities planned for the day.

Monitored beaver dam sites: Lobendava (CZ)
We then crossed the border to visit the monitored beaver sites. The monitoring campaign combines groundwater wells, water-level gauges, discharge measurements, dam surveys, beaver tracking and camera traps. Students saw how beaver activity changes water flow and the surrounding landscape: a cascade of beaver ponds can store thousands of cubic metres of water. They also learned about the conflicts that can arise between beaver dams, human infrastructure and agricultural land, as we shared an incident that happened right at the site. Standing there, they could see the benefits and the conflicts side by side.