One place we hear fairly consistent beaver support is from our young people. High School or Elementary School the beavers tend to be fairly popular in the 2-18 voter block. If you think young people don’t understand the importance of their environment, prepare to be impressed. Check out Rona Zollinger’s ESA class and their effort to make an eco-friendly parking lot, reported in the Contra Costa Times and the Pleasant Hill Record.
Then sit down with the morning coffee to read 9 year old Noa N’s outstanding class essay on the Martinez Beavers.
The Beavers
The beavers are a small group building two dams in Martinez. Have you ever SEEN a beaver at all or even in a town?! If you have remember this: You are blessed.
Just last night my mom and I went to downtown Martinez and watched the beavers for two and a half hours. I kept on saying to my mom, “Just one more beaver.” But when we saw the next beaver I tried not to say anything that would make my mom remember what I said. She wasn’t going to listen anyway if I did; she was too busy watching the beavers. My mom sometimes said “We will stay for just five more minutes,” and I pushed until my mom made it ten minutes. Then we stayed for about forty five minutes. What I’m trying to say is: They are fascinating.
People think the beavers are so cute, but they are more than just cute. Other animals live in the habitat they create. No wonder a Native American tribe believes that the great lord put Beaver there to bring peace to earth!!! The beaver family consists of a mom, a dad and last year’s babies (4 were born and 2 died.). The mother is pregnant and you will probably see the kits first in June.
You might think nothing could go wrong with these cute beavers but you are wrong. The beavers are one of the subjects being talked about at Martinez City Council meetings and some people are suggesting killing them because of flood control. We got to meet with the mayor at our school and he said (thank goodness) that he decided that he was NOT going to kill them (Yahoo!!!!). He also said it was unclear what their future was going to be.
Beaver Deceiver
The City Council used an invention to trick the beavers in a way that will make them not build their dam any higher. People call it the “beaver deceiver.” It is a pipe that runs through the dam and makes it so that the beavers cannot hear the water flowing through their dam. “How does this trick them?” you might ask. Well, the beaver deceiver is a pipe that goes through the beaver’s dam, sucks up all the water and jets it to the other side. This tricks the beavers into thinking that no water is leaking through the dam, thus stopping them from making it any higher or fixing any leaks.
I hope that beavers leave before anybody hurts them, and if they are not going to hurt them, I hope they stay. The beavers are special because they help citizens learn more about their city, help bring citizens together, and bring wildlife from afar to Martinez for citizens to get in touch with nature.
Now that’s a child we need on our side! Aside from his persuasive enthusiasm, he has the science just right. He’s obviously been watching, listening and learning a great deal. Thanks, Noa & Mom for agreeing to post your first-class essay on the website. I hope your teacher marched down to the dam site that very night. Any other Beaver-writers can always contact us at mtzbeavers@gmail.com for inclusion. Our beavers need all kinds of advocates.
