You know how it is. You drift along with nothing much to do but keep some PT appointments while you’re broken foot heals and then all of a sudden there are a MILLION things for you to do all at once. And they start NOW please.
Just yesterday I learned that the festival is on the calendar for the Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission week after next and could I turn my powerpoint in by the 11th? And today I was told the the CCC Fish and Wildlife Committee would like a presentation on beavers and May 19th would be ideal. Um, okay. I have wanted to preach the gospel to them since forever, but life is still a little discombobulated at the moment, bones being what they are and all.
Anyway of course I said yes to both and yes to the Diablo Gazette publisher I implored to put something in about the beaver festival. He remembered Amy’s photo on the cover and I assured him we had great new stuff for him to choose from.
So let’s hope. I also sent him this;
Martinez led the way for Sacramento
Back when the now-famous beavers moved into Martinez in 2007, there presence was literally an anomaly. There were no other cities working to live with beavers, and no articles in the New York or LA times praising their environmental contributions, or noting that their dams can alleviates droughts, reduce fires, and mitigate flooding. The world was a different place when hundred’s of local residents forced the city to try coexisting with the popular rodents instead of trapping them. This success allowed Martinez to see firsthand how beaver habitat created more birds, more frogs, more muskrats and otters and provided a vibrant creek that stayed lush year round.
Launched by the advocacy group Worth A Dam as a way to reinforce local support, the beaver festival used to be the only one of its kind in North America, but there have since been others in Utah, and Oregon, a second beaver festival in San Luis Obispo this year and, the first of its kind in Minnesota. More importantly, the California Budget introduced a 1.44 million dollar addition for beaver restoration and CDFW has been given the hard job of teaching more people to coexist with beaver like Martinez to benefit our fragile waterways.
The 14th festival will include live music, children’s activities, a silent auction and the dynamic chalk artist Amy G. Hall of Napa creating a focal mural that shows off the beavers prowess. Environmental displays will include Native Birds, Nor Cal Bats, Save the Snakes, Lindsey Wildlife and a huge mobile fish aquarium from East Bay Regional Park.
The event is free, with free parking in Susana Park downtown Martinez from 10-3. It’s true that the little city doesn’t deserve credit for all the good things that have happened to beavers over the years, but events like this surely got the ball rolling. Come join us for a dam good time and find out why beavers are being called climate change superheroes!
Well I can feel my leg getting stronger most days, let’s just hope my brain gets more focused and attentive too because I don’t want to waste any chances!
