Beavers or Social Ambasadors – Page 20

Pick a card, any card…

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Educational, Environmental September 19, 2011

Yesterday we bundled ourselves together at dawn and drove out to the Oakland Zoo for Jane Goodall’s ‘Roots and Shoots‘ International Day of Peace. We set up on the meadow with about ten other displays and children came by to learn something about beavers, draw on our unique flag and earn a stamp on their passport to peace. We were right near the primate habitat so there was a constant hoot of foolery, aggression and forgiveness right behind us. Always looking for new ways to teach beaver basics, I had a deck of cards made with wildlife photos from our pond. The children drew five cards and had to tell us which ones beavers and their dams helped.

I am pleased to say that three teens got the correct answer and said matter-of-factly, “They help all of them!” These teens all happened to be wild guides for the Zoo, which just goes to show that the program is working. Twice I had parents answer “They help them all except the salmon, right?” which, if you think about it, is a microcosm of what’s wrong with stream lore generally. This is the first time they’ve had this event there and it was smaller than they probably wished, but it was a great group of kids and parents and our flag is looking pretty remarkable. FRo again exceeded herself at pulling joyful artwork out of even the most art-averse child.

Cheryl stopped off in the morning before we went to snap this photo of one of our yearlings coming home across the secondary dam. Nicely done. She found out this a.m. that another photo will be in the 2012 Watershed Calendar for Contra Costa County. She was hard at work snapping photos yesterday too, and her friendly contacts got us and our gear a ride up the hill at the end of the day. Thanks Cheryl!

Coming over the Secondary Dam: Photo – Cheryl Reynolds

Ends & Pieces

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creek Seekers Poetry Contest, Environmental September 16, 2011

Beaver loyalist Lory Bruno has been in Tahoe this week, where our good friends from the Sierra Wildlife Coalition have spotted both a new beaver dam AND a new beaver kit! They toured the area on a sunny afternoon and I thought I’d share this. (Shhh, don’t tell our beavers they’d be SO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!)

Sierra Wildlife Coalition Visit new Tahoe Beaver Dam

In the mean time, while her sisters go to the ball, Cinderella has been slaving away sewing the new beaver flag that children will be asked to illustrate at Sunday’s Peace Day event at the Oakland Zoo. That’s right, our own FRogard Butler has volunteered to be the Besty Ross of Beavers and has created this eye catching emblem. Imagine it covered with creatures after the children get to populate it!

flag1 — New Worth A Dam starter-flag by FRo

She made sure to add this mascot to give the piece heart. I can’t wait to see what it becomes.

And after I sent Sherri’s epic article around yesterday Stan Pietrowski (the method behind the state of the beaver Madness-meaning a technical and announcing wonder) offered to help her put up a website and they’re talking domain names as we speak. Soon we may get to visit Sherri’s beaver relocating website, which will be cool. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with EVERYTHING printed in the Westwood article and I can understand why. I’m trying to decide whether its indiscretions were the fault of dazzled adoration or grimly unconscious sexism but it is still MOSTLY good for Sherri and good for beavers so I won’t complain.

Just show me the article that talks about Skip Lisle’s sex life and we’ll call it even.

Beavers for Peace at the Zoo

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental September 14, 2011

Roots & Shoots Day of Peace

Join us in celebrating the United Nations International Day of Peace with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots California by coming to the Zoo on Sunday, September 18th, for the California Day of Peace 2011 as Roots & Shoots members and friends unite across the world to celebrate and promote peace.

In 2011, for the first time, Roots & Shoots is celebrating our 9th annual Day of Peace in Northern California. There will be many fun activities, including a project for the Zoo’s primates and monkeys, earning stamps on your Passport to Peace, making peace dove puppets out of recycled materials, and flying them in a Peace Dove Parade!

This event is open to the public! Spread the word to friends, family, and anyone who might be interested in coming out to the Oakland Zoo to spend a day having fun and celebrating peace!

Beavers are fairly peaceful creatures, so it seems a good fit. Worth A Dam will be one of six non-profits involved in the Passport for Peace and it would be great to see some familiar faces there. We’ll be working on two new beaver flags and a teaching how beavers build a neighborhood. Join us why don’t you?

Generous

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver News, Beavers, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions September 7, 2011

Yesterday was blurry with riches. Out of the blue I received an email from musician Mark Comstock who asked if he could send me a copy of a song he wrote and recorded for the Martinez Beavers. He’s a friend of the Hopeful Romantics who played at the festival this year. Of course, I said “yes” but I honestly had no idea how delightful it would be. I’m going to work on a video with this soundtrack this afternoon so hopefully it will get the attention it deserves. If you can’t wait you can click here

Ballad of the Martinez Beaver or on the photo for a listen.

: Mark Comstock

To top it off, I’m told Disney artist D.W. Murray just completed this illustration of the world-saving dam built by “Slapper and Patty” to protect against the rapid rise of waters from global warming in Jo Marshall’s latest Twig Stories. Jo has already promised us some copies for next years beaver festival, so we’re eager to learn if the wonder-dam was up to the task.

: D.W. Murray

Obviously Slapper and Patty are needed at the moment in drought-burdened Texas to help with the horrific fires which are by far the worst in the state’s history. Go tell the governor that apparently it makes no difference if Texas doesn’t pay attention to climate change, because climate change is still paying attention to YOU.

Beavers:From Main Street to Wall Street!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental August 30, 2011

Finally the article featuring last wednesday’s Worth A Dam visitors is featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. What a treat! First watch the video all the way through to see what Joe and Amanda do for a living, and then go read about it here.

“We can spend $200,000 putting wood into a stream, cabling down logs. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t,” she says. “Put in a colony of beavers and it always works.”

The believers’ beavers come from places like Tumtum, Wash., where Amanda Parrish checked beaver traps one morning early this month by the Spokane River.

What a fantastic article! Thanks so much Amanda and Joe, and everybody else for the work that you do! Now if we can just get folks to see the forest for the trees, so to speak, and realize the good that beavers do everywhere, not just on ranches!