It starts with a rain barrel, a shaded courtyard, a sidewalk sponge. Welcome to our Signals: short dispatches on everyday climate adaptation, from Dresden to Delhi to Denver.
This living collection highlights products, projects, and practices from around the world that reflect the next steps in climate adaptation, whether cutting edge, rediscovered, or simply well implemented.
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→ Ecosystem engineers offer climate benefits, but not without trade-offs
Across North America, beavers are being reintroduced not just for biodiversity, but for climate adaptation.
In California, state agencies are backing beaver restoration as a tool to combat wildfire and drought. Their ponds retain moisture, slow runoff, and form fire-resistant green corridors through dry landscapes.
In Canada, researchers have found that beaver dams actively slow or stop wildfires, creating safe zones even in high-risk terrain. These natural wetlands act as unplanned but highly effective firebreaks.
But in the Netherlands, another side of the story is emerging. Dutch water authorities have discovered that beavers are digging tunnels up to 17 meters long beneath dykes, roads, and railways. These tunnels threaten critical flood protection systems. Since many begin below the waterline, they are often hard to detect until damage occurs.
Rather than ending restoration efforts, authorities are developing solutions: reinforcing dykes with mesh, sealing burrows, adjusting vegetation, and creating better monitoring tools. Restoring ecosystems is only half the challenge. Ensuring that infrastructure adapts alongside them is the other.
🔗 MyMotherLode – California beaver restoration pilot projects
🔗 CBC – Beaver dams protect communities from wildfires
🔗 The Guardian – Beavers in the Netherlands digging 17 m tunnels under dykes
🔗 Deltares – Controlling burrowing beavers