It's been just over a year since we finished production on Think Like A Beaver, and it's hard not to reminisce about being freshly set up in an office in pre-Covid times. This was the first project that we completed entirely in the office, from first phone call to the last render, so it was very exciting for us all. It validated us as professionals working as a team, not just a ragtag bunch of graduates. We'd recently won a new business grant and attended an event with a dress code, so I think we were pretty full of ourselves by the time the last beaver was drawn.
Beavers are creatures I care about quite strongly. After first seeing them on a trip to Scotland three years ago, I was amazed of their capability to regenerate damaged farmland into thriving, natural spaces. At the particular site I visited at Bamff Ecotourism, they had transformed an agricultural drainage ditch into a series of ponds and dams, bordered by grasses and flowers, rich dead-wood and coppices. It was a powerful experience, seeing how quickly they'd created this amazing, wild space.
So when we finally got the opportunity to work with Scottish Wild Beaver Group, I was elated to be aiding the campaign for reintroduction of beavers in Scotland and the UK.
The film will be used as an educational tool to promote the mitigation of beaver activity by non-lethal means. SWBG have worked courageously over the last 10 years to influence the government to build more progressive policy around the effort to reintroduce beavers in Scotland and continue the fight for a beaver friendly nation that utilises the amazing capabilities of these charismatic creatures.
Following the reintroduction of native beavers to Scotland it is imperative that people and beavers learn to coexist once again as this amazing rodent brings us so many benefits. We aim to promote the study, conservation and protection of wild Eurasian beavers and their natural habitats in Scotland. We want to teach children the benefits of the beaver.
- Scottish Wild Beaver Group
GIFs created with character assets from the film are available now through Giphy and accessible by searching 'beaver believer' on messenger.
Viva la beaver!
Fin x