Beavers in the John Muir Association newsletter! If you aren’t a member yet, you really should be. I was asked to write a few word about this years festival and the association’s participation. It came out this morning in their fall newsletter.
The 2018 Beaver Festival was remarkable in many ways. Located in historic Susana Park, the John Muir Association, Mountain day Camp and John Muir National Historic Site displays all nestled under the tall trees there. They were joined by some 50 environmental exhibits including NOAA fisheries, the Forest Service, the EBRP fish mobile, and the pipevine swallowtail project from the Academy of Sciences. Co-president Bruce Campbell and board member Lynn Quinones lit the stage with the popular Alhambra Valley Band to start the day of music and festivities. Beaver tours of the new habitat near the park delighted guests, and children were encouraged to earn wildlife stickers and create their own memorable “Beaver pond” to take home.
For the first time, the event featured dynamic chalk artist Amy G. Hall of Napa who spent two days crafting a giant mural of a beaver pond and the wildlife it supports in the center of the plaza. A final dramatic first featured acclaimed environmental author Ben Goldfarb, who launched his new book by signing copies and reading aloud the Martinez chapter on stage. In addition to earning praise in National Geographic, Ben’s work has captured the attention of Science magazine, NPR, Audubon and the Washington Post, meaning the story of the Martinez beavers coming to John Muir’s home town has been proudly carried alongside its wake.
If there were ever a better way to celebrate beavers, we sure don’t know what it could be.
“Heidi is a a child psychologist who didn’t know much about beavers until 2007, when beavers showed up in downtown Martinez, California.., the former home of John Muir. She now organizes an annual beaver festival in downtown Martinez”
August 2018 National Geographic Review of Ben Goldarb’s “Eager: The secret and surprising life of beavers and why they matter”
In case you don’t recognize the penmanship. yes I wrote it. But doesn’t it look nice?
