Keeping Promises

We were once them,

and now are their custodians.

They know we are different

and their eyes tell us to keep our promise.

Geoffrey Lehmann: The Animals

This poem leaped at me from the pages of this issue of The New Yorker. I was just quietly minding my own business waiting for a Dr.’s appointment, when the beavers sneaked into my magazine and asked about my promise. Saving beavers is hard work. Sisyphus hard. Sometimes in the complexities of being educator, tour guide, researcher and booking agent, it becomes more difficult to maintain my primary role as custodian. Maybe I’m here writing the web page instead of down at the dam at dawn, or preparing for the next talk instead of sneaking down in the evening.

I remember, back when Skip was installing the leveler, and had taken the dam down by three terrifying feet, we were all in a panic that the beavers would leave. The first night a crowd watched while all (then six) beavers worked on repairing the dam, ripping out tulles and even taking sticks from the lodge. There were panicked phone calls and very upset supporters, and I went to sleep with an ache that I might never see my beloved beaver family again.

That night I dreamed I was standing at the shoreline of the Marina and saw the entire family swimming away in a line. I knew in the dream that they were relocating, that they had given up on this habitat and all our intrusions. In the dream I understood that they would never be our beavers ever again, but I was so grateful that I had seen them one last time. They were all together, no child had been left behind or parent scattered in the confusion. And they were all right, swimming away free and strong…and I could say goodbye.

I don’t know if that dream was my promise or not, but I know it felt like a commitment to see this labyrinthian journey through to its sweet and sad conclusions; to let these animals touch and reshape my life; to let the people who care about them build new pathways for understanding. Nothing looks the same as it did that night 18 months ago, but the beavers are weaving stories and I will keep my promise.

Heidi Perryman July 26, 2007

Do you remember long ago when I wrote about Worth A Dam being contacted by the EPA to ask whether we would be willing to allow our photographs to be included in instructional material? It was one of the few times I’ve received a personal note back from the mayor, who dismissively said it was from the waste management division and not that big a deal. Waste issues aside, Cheryl and I roundly volunteered our handiwork, went back to the “beaver saving” salt mines and forgot all about it.

Last week I was re-contacted by the same source, letting me know that the curriculum was ready for draft issue and would I like a hard copy? This is first grade science instruction materials for the entire state, using beavers to talk about the adaption and habitat. It’s entitled “Surviving and Thriving” and it’s a joint project by the California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI), the Department of Education and National Geographic. The above photo by Michael S. Quinton is the cover and header for the report.

The ultimate goal of the Education and the Environment Initiative’s curriculum is to help students in kindergarten through grade twelve achieve mastery of the applicable Science and History–Social Science Content Standards simultaneously with the mastery of California’s Environmental Principles and Concepts. With these dual goals in mind, we propose the following evaluation criteria which encompass slight modifications to the State Board of Education’s Instructional Materials Criteria for Category 1 for science and history–social science, minor adjustments to Categories 2-5, Legal and Social Compliance review, and specific Education and the Environment Initiative evaluation elements.

Draft reports for Grades 4, 8, and 11 are posted and worth checking out. The first grade beaver curriculum will be added soon. Worth A Dam has three photos sprinkled throughout the text, and clear credit and mention at the back. They decided not to include our famous tail-up photo, (perhaps because they didn’t want children to think they do that cartoon behavior all the time!) Lesson 1 is “Beavers and Willows”. It carefully teaches beaver features, (webbed feet, tail, fur) then talks about how beavers change their environment and asks wisely how people change their environment and whether its always for the better.

Looking it over, I am proud to say that with only two years’ education the entire City Council and most of the city staff of Martinez Ca now know as much about beavers as any first grader in the state!