BEAVERS: HEALERS OF RIVERS

When a beaver couple made their home in a river, below an experimental farm perched atop a dry mountain in the Drôme department of France, the agronomist and farmer Marco Forconi saw it as a tremendous opportunity for bio-inspiration. He and his partners decided to give the plot of land over to the two rodents. The result? A cool and humid haven spread around the river, with no human or financial contribution.

Could beavers hold the key to restoring the valley’s ecosystems by creating new branches between waterways?

But after their dams upstream were destroyed, the rodent couple disappeared. Determined to have them return, Marco set out to investigate with scientists, rural communities, and environmental actors. His goal was to learn how to “cultivate water” like beavers, and to mobilize the entire Drôme drainage basin as part of a citizenled movement for their return.