Giving and Taking

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise March 5, 2017

They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. So what’s theft?

This is a quiz from the Scottish Beaver Trials page for kids. If you follow this link you can go see the crime for yourself. And no they did not ask to use our image. Even though we have been on friendly terms in the past. The beaver quiz is an example of a single instance of copyright theft on their web page. Here’s is four:

I wrote them that they need to ask before snagging, and waited a while to hear back, but it has been two weeks and I’ve heard nothing, so they are getting talked about. This is a very bad habit. I know I use these silhouettes a lot, but that’s because they’re so useful. Which means they’re of value and you shouldn’t take without asking.

best baby ever (1)small — *This and the silhouette made from it are the property of Worth A Dam. Ask before you steal.*

Our silhouettes were made by volunteer graphic art student Libby Corliss in 2009 out of photos taken by Cheryl Reynolds of our beavers in Martinez. To make a silhouette you have to carefully select a photo where the figure is distinct from the background. It took me hours to choose them, and it took Libby hours to make them. Not to mention it took Cheryl many hours sitting at the dam site to get the photo in the first place. Here is the photo on which this is based. And NO, Scotland, you can’t steal it too.

Hrmph!

Now on to some pleasanter things, because it is sunday, you know. This week the first donation was two sets of very beautiful note and holiday cards from Crane CreekGraphics in Wilson Wyoming. This was painted by artist and owner of the company, Wendy Morgan, who grew up and lives surrounded by nature. It’s a lovely glimpse of the beaver’s other, watery world.

They donated a set of notecards and a set of holiday cards with the beaver carrying a festive garland. Thanks Wendy for sharing your art with us!

Next on the list is the very engaging artwork of Indiana artist Ethan Burnsides Yazel. You will spot right away why I asked him for this print, but he delighted me more by including several others as well, including a raccoon stitching and a mouse gardening!

Go visit his shop on Etsy BursidesManor, for a collection that is intelligent, whimsical, sometimes grim. Always with rich color and detail. Thanks Ethan for your contribution to the beaver festival!

Finally, a tiny offering that came a long way. These charming drop earrings showing Mr. and Mrs. Beaver of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia were made by Jane E. Wells in Kent, England from her favorite childhood novel. Literally FROM the novel, as they come on a backing of the text as well. This blending of story, art, and jewelry conjures textured images from the past woven with a bright, inclusive future. Go see all her designs at her Etsy Shop Prairie Moon Crafts. And thank you Jane!

If you see anything that belongs in this silent auction beavery collection, let me know.

Inspiration Abounds

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental June 12, 2014

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Scottish Beaver Trial – Olwen Hemmings Education Ranger

This fantastically educational tool was created by Olwen Hemmings for the kids program in the now-concluded Scottish Beaver trial. When I saw the photo I was in awe and wrote Simon Jones to know how it was made. He passed my email along to Olwen and she wrote back this morning.

Hi Heidi

The arch was a bit of a home-made job. I used 4inch thick upholstery foam (from Dunelm Mill, or the like) and doubled it up. Then cut the blocks using a fine toothed Japanese pull saw (a bread knife works just as well). Working out the angles for the blocks was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, and I ended up on the floor with a giant piece of dressmaking pattern paper, a long rule and a protractor trying to make a template!

Once the blocks were cut I sewed covers for them with a durable heavy cotton canvas (just some fabric I had lying around) and the pictures were put on with computer printable iron on transfer paper.

Glad you like them, they do go down well with the children who find them fun and I think they illustrate the ‘keystone arch’ concept very well.

Please feel free to give me a shout if you want to know any more.

Kind regards

Oly Hemmings

Education Ranger

Scottish Beaver Trial

Of course the idea of such blocks at the beaver festival for kids to shape and play with loomed large immediately. As well as having blank ones that kids can paint! (Every cube has 6 sides you know…) And a tall arch that you walk under to enter the festival.

Oh and when I mentioned the possibility that they had a little help coming up with the idea, Simon didn’t deny it. This is the back page of our festival brochure.

archbrochure — Beaver Festival – Amelia Hunter

And speaking of Amelia, yesterday we arranged for the beaver festival ad to run in the July Issue of Bay Crossings and our beautiful artist once again made it possible. Look for us at transit stations everywhere near the bay. Thanks Amelia!

I also heard from Ellis Myers, the editor of the Mt. Diablo Audubon newsletter, that he wanted an article and photo for the next issue of the Quail on why birders should come to the beaver festival! Perfect! Just the place to run this amazing new photo from Cheryl – thus confirming the coveted title of BBPEW (Best Beaver Photographer in the Entire World).

Beaver swimming past great egret – Cheryl Reynolds Worth A Dam

Don’t hand in your passport yet…

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? November 3, 2013

Yesterday we talked about the ecological wisdom of Nanaimo, but not all B.C. can boast such foresight. Just three hours away on the other side of Vancouver, the town of Pitt Meadows has a lot to learn about beaver management.

Beavers busy in Katzie Slough

The City of Pitt Meadows has moved to remove several beavers who dammed a section of the Katzie Slough before they cause a flood.

City staff usually discourage the beavers from building by tearing down their dams but this particular colony has been persistent and refuses to move on. “They build their dams, we tear it down. They build their dams, we tear it down,” says Evans.

Thoughtful Pitt meadow has apparently been using the very advanced beaver management technique referred to as “T.O.&O.”. (Trying over and over.) I believe it was developed in the 30’s by Dr. Was ‘Ted’ Effort. Too bad the city has that rare breed of “REBUILDING BEAVERS”. That almost ~~never~~ always happens.

Being so close to FBD they must have heard of flow devices and know something about their use. Hmm, they probably have a completely resonable sounding explanation about why that wouldn’t work in Pitt Meadow, You know, something that makes it clear they did their homework but the lesson just didn’t apply to them.

“They are bad for us in Pitt Meadow because of our shallow drainage system, because everything is so flat. Every time they build a dam, it has huge impacts on our drainage system because it just backs everything up.”

Ahhh, nicely done sir. I fondly remember the sage advice two city managers ago explaining to the public that he knew all about flow devices but that they wouldn’t work in our special Martinez conditions. Still information has a way of getting out because look at the last paragraph of the article.

Animal Welfare Institute says a preferred option and a better long-term solution for dealing with beaver and human conflicts is to work with existing beaver in the habitat.

Beaver pipes can be installed in dams to control flooding, while road flooding can be controlled with Beaver Bafflers. There are several humane alternatives to protecting trees from beavers, including surrounding trees with cylindrical cages, coating them with a sand/paint mixture, spraying them with repellents and/or placing low fences around them.

You don’t say.

Now let’s head east where the Scottish Beaver Trial earned high acclaim in the Nature of Scotland Awards this week.

Scottish Beaver Trial: The Scottish Beaver Trial sees the first ever formal reintroduction of a mammal species anywhere in the UK. In itself, this is a major innovation and a remarkable step forward for conservation, driven by a committed and expert partnership. The project has been meticulously planned, carefully developed and comprehensively monitored and has rigorously followed IUCN principles. It is clearly a leading example of the way such programmes should be designed and delivered.

However, it is not just the environmental aspects that make this project so special and remarkable, but it is the whole integrated approach to the reintroduction, including education, tourism and the wider social and economic benefits as well. The partnership brings together multiple disciplines and multiple perspectives in an original and highly successful way. The project has been taken forward in the open, with a focus on inclusive engagement with local communities, experts, supporters, doubters, and the media.

The beaver is what is known as a “keystone” species, and has been recognised as a major ecosystem or environmental engineer – one that by its very presence and behaviour can transform riverine habitats into much more diverse and natural ecosystems. This has consequent benefits to a wide range of other species, and also the potential to impact on the delivery of other ecosystem services, such as natural flood management, water quality improvement, recreation, education and tourism. Taken together, this is about a sea change in the way we approach conservation at a natural ecosystem scale, and the way we involve people and communities in enjoying nature and the services it delivers. Bringing the beaver back home to Scotland has been an outstanding achievement.

Very well put indeed, I could hardly have said it better myself.

Kit-licious

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, kits, Video August 15, 2011

Lovely footage of a beaver kit surveying his territory from Aigas a family home castle turned wildlife center near Inverness in the the Scottish highlands. The programe manager who posted it, Warwick Lister-Kaye, is a member of the save the free beavers of the River Tay site on facebook. I can’t embed the clip but if you click on the footage it should take you to a place you can watch it yourself.

Aigas is one of the private estates that keeps beavers. Paul Ramsy’s house at bamff is another to the south. There are several of these large, private estates that ‘brought back beavers’ to enrich their property and appeal to tourists. The feral free beavers of the river Tay (that are ruining the pristine attention span of the Official Beaver Trial located in Knapdale to the west) squeezed out from under some of their fencing or over a rock wall to try life on their own. It’s ironic because these homes helped prepare the scottish public for acceptance of beavers, and are now indirectly being blamed for ruining the trial. Go Figure.

There are a lot of good folk involved with the effort to save the free beavers of the River Tay. If you want to follow along you can join the facebook effort here. Many of them are not just wildlife-lovers but well-educated and working in related fields – I am constantly surprised to read a bit of research-based beaver gospel coming from the congretation. They have clearly won the first round and dissuaded officials from rounding up and trapping beavers for now. It’s not clear what the future will hold.

Must See TV

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere May 1, 2011

This breathless review of beavers in Britain is awesome television. I love the announcers excitement and enjoyment of the animal, his hushed wonder upon seeing them in person, and his pragmatic discussion of coppicing. This glorious beaver reporting is as good a way as any to say Happy First Birthday to our lovely kits YEARLINGS who are proving every day that the science of building dams ain’t ALL instinct.

One additional thought: Our beavers are a little cuter than castor fiber. Look especially at the bump on their snouty noses and think about our beavers and their beautiful canine noses. We definitely got the pretty cousin, but it’s a great film and I hope their is a trickle down effect for all that beaver excitement.