hang on

Our good friends Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie of Sonoma Birding are the inspired brains behind the CBC4 Kids. This is a 90 minute course where children and their parents get out in nature and observe and count wildlife. It is a small scale version of the big Audubon event that has been performed by adults for 100 years, but it has the added bonus of getting kids interested in wildlife, getting kids outside, and teaching families to appreciate nature together. I am always awed and impressed with what Tom is able to do with his dream, and he has been invited to Washington D.C. and Canada to teach about this. Here’s his lovely PBS clip about the program. Tom was recently given the Ludlow Griscom award for his amazing hard work teaching the citizen science of bird watching to youth. You might recognize their faces as regulars at the beaver festival, where they are enthusiastic supporters.

Christmas Bird Count for Kids – With Tom Rusert

This story is timely in every way because Tom was recently instrumental in finding a new fiscal sponsor for Worth A Dam. Way back in 2008 I connected with Bill and Helen Feil of Land for Urban Wildlife in Pleasant Hill. That allowed us to receive charitable donations, apply for funds and accept contributions. I never in a million years thought Worth A Dam, our beavers, or our mission would be around all this time, but with Helen’s untimely death last year it was time for us to move on. Land for Urban Wildlife was a wonderful, supportive umbrella that allowed us to get on our feet. And since we apparently aren’t going anywhere, it was time for us to transition to a more formal sponsor relationship. Tom gallantly introduced us to his sponsor, Loren Cole of Inquiring Systems Inc, and recommended we become a new project. ISI is an organization like Earth Island takes on related sustainable NGOs throughout the world and provides non-profit status. I checked with a few friends who are with EI and found they weren’t thrilled with the process. Not to mention that EI takes 9% of proceeds and 15% of federal grants. ISI will require only 5% to pay for their services, and will take nothing at all on money we’ve already accrued.

ISI has provided project management, business management, fiscal sponsorship services, training and technical assistance services to 3,650+ primarily nonprofit and NGO organizations, along with some value-driven, socially responsible for-profit entities.

Which means to us is that Worth A Dam get help setting up its new bank account, new paypal relationship, filing its paper work, managing request for audits and the like. Leaving us to focus on the subject that we cared about in the first place: Beavers. What this means to you is that as of January 1st, 2014, any donation you make will be made out to Worth A Dam, ISI instead of LUW. As someone who’s been wading through the paperwork on my own for the last 5 years, I am enormously grateful for the help, and appreciative that Tom got me in the door.

Oh and just in case you haven’t opened your Contra Costa watershed calendar yet, go straight to June where you’ll be greeted by this smiling face! (No mention of Worth A Dam and a beaver photo by someone OTHER than Cheryl – but still a nod to our beavers and very good friend FRO!).

October features another hero Cassy Campbell who happily volunteered for a million jobs at the beaver festival. John Finger is the great artist behind the calendar and emailed for advice this year saying, (“I want someone associated with the beavers, but not political, any suggestions?”) Umm…a few. The other 10 months have nice people featured in the calendar we haven’t figured out how to get to help us yet.

Stay tuned.

If you were standing on the bridge last night you could feel that little nip in the air that told you autumn is approaching. You would have heard the shrill chirp of the circling osprey who is counting his days before migration. You would have seen a handful of yellow leaves fall into the water and thought briefly of the Hau flowers in Kauai, that begin their hyacinth morning dressed in yellow and then drop gracefully into the water where they ripen first into orange and then a deep scarlet by nightfall.

And you would be marking your calendars so you remember to join us for this: 1240459_10151846003023958_1177210572_n Cornerstone is a magically elegant place just about 40 minutes from Martinez at the easy edge of Sonoma. It’s artistic shops have amazing things that we probably can’t afford to buy but are very fun to look at, and its lush gardens might be the sight of a wedding for a politician’s daughter or some important corporate event. But on October 20th it will be the home of the SECOND ANNUAL NATURE & OPTICS FESTIVAL, planned by our good friends Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie of Sonoma Birding. Naturally minded folk will travel from the edges of the earth to see the 40 nature exhibits, 8 artist displays and 10 sponsoring Optic companies who will teach you personally what binoculars or equipment would best suit your needs. And in addition to sponsoring the event, the good people of Pentax, Zeiss or Swarski will pay the sales tax of any optics purchase you make that day. You can bet Worth A Dam will be there talking beavers to the wine tasting crowd and we couldn’t be happier to see yet another nature festival in the Bay Area. Last year they expected about 300 attendees and wound up with a thousand. This year who knows what could happen?

Oh, and when you see Tom and Darren be sure to tell them congratulations. The great state of California allowed them to get married this year, and I’m thinking that their continued happiness is a very good thing for beavers.

Yesterday was “beaver madness at the dam”, with a almost full cast of six characters on stage including the three new kits, our 2012 kit (who’s now a yearling), the ever-attentive new mom dad brought home in 2011 and an uncle (step-uncle?) who is one of the three 2010 kits our original mom had before she died. This uncle beaver is apparently less eager than most, and stayed behind after his siblings had dispersed. Here’s he is coming to see what’s going on. Only dad didn’t make an appearance last night, but he is a cautious beaver and we never known when he’ll show. If you can steal an evening some time in the next few weeks before it gets cooler, I wouldn’t miss the chance to see the family in person.