Yesterday I received word that the Kiwanis club of Martinez will fund the Charm Bracelet activity at the beaver festival. As you might remember, we first tried this activity at the Girl Scouts Amazing Day Flyway Fiesta. Girls earned charms by learning important facts about the way beavers impacted other species.
That particular experiment was a HUGE SUCCESS in much the same way that having a party that is attended by five times as many very fun people as you invited (or have space for) is a huge success. We had a half dozen Worth A Dam members on hand that day and we were all hopelessly overworked. If it had not been for some very blessed and generous parent volunteers we would never have managed. Thankfully good ideas make friends and we soon had all the helpers we needed.
We plan to set things up differently at the festival. Kids will start out getting the bracelet with me and earn their “Key” charm by learning what a keystone species is. Then go off to a linking station (where two jewelry minded volunteers are already lined up. We’ll need more if you’re interested?) and have that added to their bracelet while they bone up on details about how dams increase insect for the next charm. All the information they need to earn the charms will be easily accessible. Whenever they are ready they can trot over to the Friends of Alhambra Creek display to explain how we get better and bigger bugs because of the dams trapping sediment and organic material and thus earn their dragon fly charm. They can bring this back to the “linking station” and read up on how a better and more varied bug diet affects the fish population. Then take that knowledge over to the SPAWN display and explain what they’ve learned to earn their salmon charm. And so on for birds and otters.
The goal is to teach about the relationships in a tangible way that increases activity and visitation for all the booths. The very last charm they earn will be the beaver, and they’ll come back to me at the beaver information booth and explain how it all fits together. At the end they’ll have a beautiful charm bracelet paid for by the Kiwanis club, which can remind them about a head full of information about how the beaver-centered ecosystem works. The charms are purchased from Shipwreck Beads who are doing a special order for us. (They were out of beavers!) I am trying to persuade them to donate a few extra, so keep your fingers crossed. At the moment the activity will be free for the first 100 children, and any truly motivated adults can participate for a materials fee of 5 dollars.
It will be a dam fine bracelet and learning experience. Thank you Kiwanis, for making it possible!
