At a secret location on the Somerset Levels, I peer into a deep tank. The air is cool and smells fishy, filters hum. Elvers – each as long as my little finger – squirling through the water in precise calligraphic strokes, like a single letter endlessly repeated. My friend Hannah fishes some out and decants them carefully into a plastic bag like fairground goldfish. These fish are far more precious. Once abundant here on the Levels, they are now critically endangered, and one of the most trafficked animals in the world.
We load our precious cargo into the Eelmobile, a van full of tanks, filters and assorted kit, and driven by Hannah Strode, who heads a marvellous initiative called, simply, Eels in the Classroom. She has spent the past few months cold-calling schools, asking if their children would look after baby eels until they are ready to be released. Every single school – 59 of them – came back with a resounding yes. I mean, eels in the classroom? Come on!
