Month: September 2009

The Ferry Point Fall Music Festival

heidi08 Festival, Friends of Martinez Beavers September 11, 2009

Beaver friend Phil Ciaramitaro has a vision for an active vibrant fishing pier that draws visitors to the downtown area from all over. He displayed his designs at the beaver festival, which include some nicely shaded areas to fish on the pier, reasonable restroom access and a boat house for the Joltin’ joe. (I’m thinking they also need a beaver statue, but we can add that detail later!) He has been talking to the city, the sons of italy, the rotary club, the elks, the parks department — anyone that will listen really. He came up with the fundraising tool of a three day music festival at the Muir amphi-theatre by the waterfront. Day two is the Jugband festival at which Worth A Dam will also have a display.

Do jugbands and beavers go together? You bet they do! The critters in this video sure look like beavers, and let’s be honest, no one really believes otters could sit still long enough to play an instrument! Remember the creek seekers express that was narrated by the marine biology curator from the Oakland museum? Turns out he’s in a jugband and will be there that weekend. Who knows what other beaver contacts are waiting to be uncovered?

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=BV0SbkrG44Y]

Tickets are available at from these merchants or you can contact Phil directly. If your nonprofit takes on the task of selling 25 3-day tickets he will donate 100 dollars and 2 free tickets to boot!

Bull Dog BBQ – 601 Main St. 228-9910 – Owners – Ralph & Gina Rangall
Bow & Rack – 701A Escobar. 229-8046 – Owners – Bob & Judy Yerman
Char’s Flowers – 516 Main St. 228-1100 – Owner – Char West
Granshaw’s Flowers – 837 Main St. 370-3838 – John & Adela Hall
Les Schwab Tire Center – 3800 Alhambra Ave. 370-6382 – Mgr – Dwayne Glemser
White Rabbit – 529 Main St. 229-1900 – Owners – Anne & Bill Mobley
Good Stuff Guitar Shop – 511 Main St. 228-2500 – Owner – Danny White
Alley Cats – 520 Main St. 229-5509 – Owner Carolyn Hill
Family Hairlooms – 602 Ferry St. 228-9910 – Owners – Jaime & Lynne Hunt
Martinez Senior Center – 818 Green St. 370-8770

Yesterday in Beaverland…

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports September 10, 2009

We had some nice surprises. I started the morning with a visit to the dam and saw a few yearlings mudding about. At one point there looked to piece of dark hard debris on the secondary dam- right in the gap the beavers use to cross over. How surprised was I when the trash sprung legs, a head and a tail and proceeded to crawl over the dam, using the depression the beavers provided. It was a western pond turtle! He musta’ been moving fast or I would be able to share a picture of my walking waste.

Later a couple of very nice emails arrived, sent to the beavers (care of me), one from a supporter in Oakland and one from the Orange County couple we met at the dam last week. The woman from the EPA that included our beaver photos in the curriculum of every first grader in the state wrote to get updates and addresses. And we heard from Worth A Dam member Lory (on vacation in alaska) that she was in Denali park excitedly watching beavers swim around.

At the meeting there were more beaver supporters in one place than I have seen since the festival. Robert Rust (the kayaking creek cleaner) was there, along with a bunch of beaver supporters I had never met but who wanted to thank me. Ken Dothee came to tell me that his performing son (Nick Dothee) was wearing one of our 2008 beaver t-shirts on a youtube video and we should check it out. Of course I came straight home to investigate.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=96lnu7q3yOI]

Oh, and what happened at the meeting last night? Here’s the short version:

Sometimes Goliath wins.

Our Actions/Our Estuary

heidi08 Uncategorized September 9, 2009

Guest Blogger: Lisa Owens Viani of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership.

As sea level rises, and the climate changes, how will the San Francisco Bay Estuary and its wetlands, watersheds, and wildlife—including the ever-so-clever, charismatic Martinez beavers—respond? Sea—and Bay and Delta—levels—are predicted to rise as much as four and a half feet by the year 2100. One way of responding to this threat is to make our watersheds more resilient, or better able to withstand change. To do that, we need less hardscape—concrete and pavement—and more green, as in trees, shrubs, reeds, and rushes.

We need to slow, spread, and sink our stormwater runoff (to quote my friend Brock Dolman, of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center) instead of shooting it straight into the Estuary; by slowing, spreading, and sinking all of that water, we replenish groundwater, reduce flashy runoff and erosion, filter pollutants, and create more resilient, more flexible watersheds. We can daylight creeks (dig up and bring those in pipes back above ground), revegetate the ones in concrete channels, open up and restore creek mouths where they enter the Bay in pipes, restore more wetlands—nature’s “sponges” and buffers against sea level rise—and create many more “green stormwater” projects. Beavers, too, could play a big part in a more resilient landscape, helping to recharge groundwater, slow flashy flood flows and stream bank erosion, and restore habitat for our threatened salmonids.

On September 29-October 1, 2009, the Estuary Partnership will examine some of these questions—and many more issues affecting the Estuary—during its 9^th biennial State of the Estuary conference, entitled “Our Actions/Our Estuary.” In addition to keynote speakers from Stanford University, NOAA, and the Pacific Institute who will address climate change, other sessions at the conference will focus specifically on the status of the fish, birds, and other wildlife that use the Estuary, and the status of their habitat. On the second day, watershed restoration activities being promoted by cities surrounding the Bay will be highlighted. Featured cities include San Mateo, Emeryville, Hercules, and San Francisco. Guest speaker Tom Liptan, from Portland, will describe his city’s groundbreaking green stormwater projects, and the Ella Baker Center’s Jakada Imani will talk about how we can put people back to work again around the Bay through green jobs. Time Magazine’s Michael Grunwald gives the keynote address that day, sharing lessons learned in the Everglades.

On the third day, scientists and others will address new contaminants of concern in the Bay, how to retrofit our older urban and suburban landscapes in order to tackle water and air quality concerns, and how to deal with the trash epidemic in the Estuary and Pacific Ocean. We’ll learn about the latest efforts to restore subtidal (beneath the water) habitat in the Bay, and from a variety of environmental groups about how they are engaging local communities and students in their watersheds. Click here for the entire program or to register.

Upcoming…

heidi08 Uncategorized September 8, 2009

I promised i’d give a mention to this weekend’s Master Gardener Tour. Several of the garden’s have Martinez Addresses, and our local Master Gardeners have been good (though surprising!) friend of the Martinez Beavers. For 15 dollars you get the full benefit of their training and expertise, and some great ideas for your own backyard.

President Harriet Burt writes:

We are hoping that it is not our last as the County seed money funding (of about $3k) may be pulled which will stop $3m of UC Cooperative Extension money which funds us, 4-H, the County Ag advisors for the remaining real farmers, nutrition programs all sorts of good things for all residents in the County. We are fighting hard to keep it. Tickets cost $15 and can be obtained from me! (372-8038 or 209-0800 or email) and I will deliver! Six gardens including two neat ones in Martinez: The downtown one is on the top of Brown Street in one of the old Shell cottages right next to the refinery. Troy McGregor is an Australian who bought the place which is quite charming albeit small and has put in a wonderful garden of natives, mediterranean and Australian plants…low on water needs but high on appeal. The fun thing is that Marilyn Thelen’s step-grandfather worked for Shell and maintained the gardens on that block of residences built originally for Shell employees.

The one in Virginia Hills is a neat lawn-free walking garden….the 60s low maintenance foundation plants like camellias and nandina and juniper and the lawn have made way for drought tolerant and wonderfully laid out plants…You’ll enjoy all the gardens including two in Pleasant Hill and two in the Tice Valley part of Walnut Creek. One of those is truly amazing if you like vegetable gardening, it’s a must see! Actually it is anyway as the ornamental part is wonderful also. Our theme this year is water conservation so we are emphasizing native, Mediterranean and Australian plants. All the gardens have great features and all are emphasizing low water usage in some way including transitioning from a more traditional plant palette to one that acknowledges the growing scarcity of water.

We’re having a big plant sale at the other one — mostly drought tolerant plants such as salvias, succulents etc. And, fall is the best time to plant natives and Mediterranean plants so they get watered in well (or hopefully well if El Nino comes through).

Beavers Make Techie Friends

heidi08 Creative Solutions September 8, 2009

So yesterday I was quietly enjoying the response I got from Chris Pincetich about beavers and salmon and wondering how we can best follow up together, when I got an email from previously unknown DW about the web site. Who designed it and could he talk to him and get some questions answered for the one he’s working on? I described our weird and wonderful history with the site founder, Bruce (who moved on) and the site designer (Mike) who moved farther on, and said that we were now working with a very kind and brilliant woman (Jean) who knew nothing about WP but was able sometimes to control the site through a whip, a chair, and html. Was he perhaps looking for unpaid work with acres of commitment and very little reward? Alas, no. He was not a WP expert either, sadly, but he suggested I put an ad on CL and he would screen them for me.

It took longer than it should have for me to realize that CL meant “Craig’s List”. DW explained how to do it and I dutifully followed the directions and wrote what seemed like an inviting plea, mentioning that it was unpaid but good for visibility and the environment. I thought nothing would come of it, like putting a note adrift in a bottle, and went back about my business.

Within the hour I had ten responses. Two from friendly beaver supporters and WP experts that couldn’t wait to help. In the second hour I got ten more, and then a note that my listing had been flagged for removal. (Maybe because it had the word “beaver” in it?) Honestly, I ask you, am I the scariest thing on Craig’s list?. Even though the ad clearly said “UNPAID WORK” I got many enthusiastic responses. It makes you wonder just how bad this economy is…

Our very first respondent used to live near beavers in New York, and would take the boat out to have his lunch by the lodge. He immediately noticed the theme and the changes we had made to the website, and was full of suggestions about how to proceed. He would handle the color issues for us, and back us up with a new upgraded site if we chose. He couldn’t have offered better or sounder advice, and the whole experience was so affirming it made me kind of seasick.

Allow me to explain. As a beaver advocate, I am braced all the time for difficult responses; for people that shout “eat them” as they drive by the bridge, or the UC professor who wrote me back in my very first attempts to explain that they weren’t endangered and should be shot, or even Janet Kennedy saying I need to appreciate more how the city has helped them. I’m used to bad beaver news. It’s familiar. I’m always standing like the door’s going to open into a gush of strong wind throwing me back and I had better be prepared to keep slogging forward anyway.

I am TOTALLY unprepared when the door opens onto a lovely grassy garden where hummingbirds sip hibiscus nectar and people give me good things that I want very much without my doing anything besides ask. I cannot tell you how anxious it makes me. It is okay if I feel I have earned it, but if it was just given freely and I’ve done no work whatsoever, it freaks me out. Still the “unbearable lightness” of getting exactly what you want means you have to be strong enough to ask for it, and gracious enough to accept it, so I am trying my best on that second front.

Which is all to say WOW and welcome aboard to RS who I will properly introduce as soon as I have permission, and thanks DW for your suggestion! We look forward to great things!