Beaver Hub!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental August 17, 2010

Remember Ian Timothy’s wonderful packaging of his five part claymation series “Beaver Creek” that he offered for the Silent Auction? Well he was pretty happy with how it turned out, too. Amidst the flurry of launching episode V he generated lots of new viewers and interest. I received an email yesterday from Joe Cannon of the Lands Council in Washington State. As you might recall, the Lands Council is the powerful information and advocacy group behind the “Working Beaver Conference” a few years back and the “Beaver Solution” production last year. It also has two Americorp positions teaching beaver management and stream solutions.

My Americorps coworker and I are coordinating a film fest themed on environmental issues and sustainable living. We’re showing several films, including the Imax “Beavers” film, and would like to show Ian Timothy’s Beaver creek animations series shown on your website. I’m so glad you’ve promoted his talents! These episodes are really great, and would be perfect for short segments between films! What would the best way to coordinate getting the DVD from him? If nothing else, I can try to connect with him through Facebook. I’m pretty sure the theater we are coordinating with can show DVD format.

Thanks! Joe

Joe Cannon

Beaver Solution Project Assistant

The Lands Council

So of course I got pretty excited and did a “Ian this is Joe, Joe this is Ian” email. I just hope Ian isn’t so bogged down with the beginning of the school year he can’t get to the post office! An environmental film festival is a great and well deserved honor to add to his resume. You know, of course, there should be an “introduction to the artist” segment included in the series, with some footage of him painstakingly fixing the clay scene, photographing and then moving it a fraction of an inch, and doing the whole thing again. It could show him doing his homework and sitting with his friends at high school and maybe it could say how he got interested in beavers?

Countdown

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Festival, Friends of Martinez Beavers August 2, 2010

With five days left to go for our beaver festival, things are either falling into place or ducking for cover. Beaver-friend Susan Kirks wrote a nice article in Petaluma 360 this morning urging attendance, and Jon & I did an interview with a report for the times this weekend. There are tshirts and brochures to fold and final touches for the silent auction to throw together.

{column1}Two last minute additions will be the dynamic new account of America’s Fur Trade by author Eric Jay Dolin: (I suggested it was poetic justice to have his book be sold for the benefit of some famous beavers and he generously agreed!) The other new entry will be the never-before-offered 5 part DVD of Beaver Creek signed by one-day-inevitably-to-be-famous Ian Timothy especially for the Martinez Beavers.{/column1}

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Our young genius (who will begin his sophmore year next month), released episode V yesterday. It’s possible the timing may not have been in honor of our festival, but lets celebrate it just in case.

Oh, and for the worried among us who haven’t seen GQ for a few days, he was seen swimming back from the secondary dam this morning by Jon and Moses. Whew!

Beaver Creek: Episode IV

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Environmental, Video February 21, 2010

Ian, Ian, Ian. When are you coming to Martinez so we can brain storm about what to do next? How about a Public Awareness campaign for the entire state of Georgia?

Love the pantry stocking. Love the snowball fight. Love the ducks in V. I was just sorry I didn’t get to see your beaver break the ice though, because I was curious how you’d pull it off.

Enjoy all of Ian’s brilliant (now fifteen year old) artistry. That’s his dad playing the banjo and we SO need him at our beaver festival. Look for “beaver creek” on youtube. Apparently just because every episode has been nominated for a national scholastic award he isn’t taking a break. Keep them coming Ian, we love you!

Beaver Creek and Ian Timothy

heidi08 Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers January 17, 2010

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{column2} Remember our beaver-friend Ian Timothy of Kentucky? He made these excellent stop motion films about “beaver creek” using clay and every ounce of patience he had. At the time he launched the first one he was just 13. Then he went on to win the AT&T science challenge with a great project teaching about beavers. Last summer I wrote this:

He’s the remarkable 13 year old (now a whopping 14) who started the claymation series “Beaver Creek” episode I of which he has already sold to a text book company in Canada! His introductory science lesson on beavers won the AT&T Science Challenge at the Louiseville Science Center.

Well it looks like ALL THREE parts won a Gold Key in the regional scholastic competition, and will now go to New York for consideration in the national prize.

This is a huge opportunity for Ian as the prize includes recognition, scholarships and exhibition. I can’t imagine what his resume is going to look like when he graduates. {/column2} You can leave words of encouragement on Youtube or Facebook, and spread the word to friends. Ian is a powerful talent, but also a talent who cares about beavers. Remember, too that this is still only his Freshman Year of Highschool. I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.

Weather Watch:

Jon says the dissent in the weather community has moved into assent and things are looking more and more windy and damp. He is still primarily concerned about the the rain later in the week. There is a reasonable chance that the worst of it will push South and bother Santa Cruz instead. Looks like washouts for the Los Gatos Creek beavers too. Sorry Mercury.

Tripple Play

heidi08 Beaver News, Friends of Martinez Beavers August 12, 2009

I’m bursting with good beaver news this morning, so thought I’d tell you everything all at once. First, Happy Birthday to Worth A Dam’s treasurer and “Man-Friday” Jon Ridler! Another year whirred by under the weight of beaver madness. Jon was the hard working soul who helped our boyscout plant trees, has been watering the trees, kayak cleans the creek, borrowed the tables for the beaver festival from the powerplant where he works, set up the festival, gave tours at the festival and took down the festival– well you get the idea. In his spare time he’s married to me, so Happy Birthday Jon! Never a dull moment!

Secondly, thanks to our new friend Scott at the smart website JournOwl. Our photographer connected with him around his interest in burrowing owls and lured him to the festival, where they met, swapped stories, and she introduced him to our other newish friend Susan Kirks of P.L.A.N. and Badger fame. He wrote a lovely piece about the ecological interconnections, so thanks Scott and thanks, Cheryl!

And to my surprise the Worth A Dam event was indeed a happening place as we wandered from booth to booth, talking with the likes of the National Parks Service and the Mt. Diablo Audubon Society chapter. But, the Twitter connection that put JournOwl.com on Worth A Dam’s radar was suddenly converted to a face to face meeting with Cheryl. From our conversation I quickly gathered that Cheryl was more than a conservationist and the VP of a non-profit, but a wildlife advocate completely willing to further a cause beyond that of her local Martinez beaver population. The dialogue was a sharing of ideas and thoughts from someone who has been there to someone, myself, who is just beginning the journey; it was a coming together of mutual values for a common goal.

Speaking of friends old and new, do you remember Ian Timothy of Kentucky? He’s the remarkable 13 year old (now a whopping 14) who started the claymation series “Beaver Creek” episode I of which he has already sold to a text book company in Canada! His introductory science lesson on beavers won the AT&T Science Challenge at the Louiseville Science Center. In his spare time Ian is starting High School this year, and yesterday wrote to let me know that Part 3 of beaver creek is available for your viewing pleasure. It features exciting beaver-otter conflict resolution.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=JF0fcGLfGPM]