Beavers growing up near Cleeve Common can see it from the village, walk on it and picnic on it. What many never get is the chance to understand it: who looks after it, what lives there, and why a wild hilltop on the edge of town doesn't stay wild on its own.
That's why we've worked with the Cleeve Common Trust on a new badge, the Cleeve Common Challenge. It invites Beavers aged 6–8 onto the Common as junior stewards rather than day-trippers. They explore its habitats, find the cattle that help keep the grassland open, walk the accessible Tramper Trail and raise money for the charity that cares for the land.
Colonies work through four challenges at their own pace. Once they've finished, Beavers can wear the badge they've earned on their uniform for up to one year.
Nicole Daw, Community Engagement Officer at Cleeve Common Trust, said: "We are so delighted to have another way for local young people to explore the Common. We believe deepening people's connection to the Common through knowledge and firsthand experience is key to them learning to love it as much as we do. When you love a place, you care for it, and this is vitally important to us!"
Nic Coates, our Group Lead Volunteer, said: "Beavers are the perfect age for this. They're curious, they're outdoorsy, and they already care about the world around us. If we can show them that the hill above their village needs people, and that they can be some of those people, we give them something that lasts longer than a rainy Sunday walk."
Cleeve Common is the largest common in the Cotswolds National Landscape and its highest point at 330m. It's looked after by the Cleeve Common Trust, a small charity set up in 1890.
Leading a local Colony? Everything you need, including the challenge pack and badge ordering, is on our Cleeve Common Challenge page.