Yesterday was a volatile day, filled with unexpected reunions and thrilling returns. It was a day of very wonderful and very upsetting things. So of course I got our two grant applications back from the CCC Fish and Wildlife Commission. Sadly the mural application received a rejection letter, but the Wildlife train bracelet was funded in full.

Hurray! Beaver money from the feds! And what on earth is the All Aboard project you ask?  A.L.L. A.B.O.A.R.D.

(A little learning about beaver operations and riparian dwellers)

            As a foundation species and ecosystem engineer, beaver offer invaluable service in riparian zones. Teaching children about this function  encourages them to think more dynamically about the way species systems are interconnected, and how our human behavior can disrupt or encourage the healthy function of streams. With their constant dam building, chewing, mudding and digging of channels, beavers create stream complexity, invertebrate abundance, and habitat enrichment.  Beaver wetlands are among the most biodiverse areas on the planet, and are rapidly being recognized for their  important role in providing salmon and steelhead habitat, protecting amphibian populations and removing phosphorous and nitrogen. It is important for children to understand that preserving these valuable Ecosystem Engineers can benefit many species, including ourselves.

            Beavers are such obvious examples of  Ecosystem Engineers that they are often used to explain the concept overall – but this language itself is not very child-friendly and can be hard for youngsters to grasp. With that in mind we’ve decided to employ the concept of a ‘train engineer’ with which children are much more familiar, to cheerfully introduce the idea. We emphasize the way the beaver ‘engineer’ drives the ecosystem with their works, pulling new species into the wetland much like a train ‘pulls along’ the other cars behind it. The concept of ‘linking’ separate cars together, works naturally with the idea of an ecosystem engineer bracelet activity, which children would put together by learning about how beavers help other species. 

Yes the acronym monster strikes again, and she believes victory is sweet. Mike Warner of Wildbryde is already hard at work on the charms for 150 children while we speak, and this grant and the recent one from Kiwanis will go a long way to making that possible. (975+450=1425). Now I just need to start breaking it gently to Erika that she will need to put on links for 8 charms x 150 children that day. I’m thinking chocolate and gerber daisies, what do you think?

And while we’re on the topic of ‘breaking it gently, I must assume that somebody told the mayor we were seeing beavers in the creek again, because I joyfully posted the news on Martinez Rants and Raves and this morning that post has received over 400 likes. This comforts me since this forum is limited to folks in Martinez  just in case we need to rally the troops again on short notice.

Finally there’s a very fun headline from Devon which has adopted a ‘beaver mascot’ and is looking for the public to help them provide a name.

A DEVON-BASED conservation charity is looking for help from the public to suggest names for its new beaver mascot

The beaver in question is a human-sized beaver costume made to promote the work of Devon Wildlife Trust with England’s only known wild beaver population on the River Otter in East Devon. The costume, which has striking teeth and tail has been produced with support from South Devon-based Cofton Country Holidays.

Steve Hussey , from the Devon Wildlife Trust, said: “We wanted a beaver mascot to help us raise the profile of the River Otter Beaver Trial and its vital work. When Cofton Country Holidays generously stepped in to help us we were delighted.