It’s impeachment o’clock. So Beavers think I should pay attention and I will share the new application for this summers project.
Nature Detectives: The Case of the Missing Salmon
Nature finds a way of avoiding us. Whether it’s a fox crossing the road in the wee hours or squirrels making their commute on telephone wires, urban nature works hard to stay out of our path. It can be difficult for children to catch a glimpse of what is going on all around them. Research confirms that a positive experience with nature in childhood is more important to future stewardship than a wealth of biology lessons or academic lectures[1]. Such opportunities are associated with intrinsic learning, social connections and lower stress levels. We are less likely to understand what we don’t see.
Teaching children to look for the clues our wild neighbors leave (rather than the animals themselves) is a great way to get around barriers. Looking for scat, pellets or footprints can teach children about the unseen residents of their lives and make them keen observers of the natural world. Learning about the complex ecological systems at a beaver pond helps introduce species interdependence. “The case of the Missing Salmon” will invite children to become ‘nature detectives’ and solve a mystery at a beaver pond, learning to identify the habits and tracks of various riparian wildlife.
The beaver pond makes an ideal setting for the ‘Mystery’ since it supports so many other visitors (suspects) and is an ecosystem unto itself. In particular, this project reminds participants (and their parents) of the important role such ponds play in the lives of salmon, as well as helping them think through the natural habits of visitors to the pond. Did the salmon become supper for the blue heron or the river otter? Or is there another explanation for its disappearance? Solving the mystery will require learning to identify the tracks of frequent pond visitors as well as gaining a better understanding of their lifecycles. This will help children attune to detail, think critically and become better citizen scientists in their future dealings with nature.
The Case of the Missing Salmon will provide a fun way to learn about the essential benefits of a beaver pond using a playful ‘mystery’ theme. Participants will be the first 100 children attending the 13th annual Beaver Festival in Martinez, CA on June 28th, 2020. Last year this event had an attendance of 1000, with over 50 participating environmental groups and 100 children finishing the activity. To begin, children will receive an envelope containing a “top secret suspect list” that includes footprints of the 6 likely culprits at the pond. They will be instructed to solve the crime and then return to the beginning to report their answer and collect their prize. To do this they will visit participating displays representing those six species and learn about them to collect a clue. These clues can be combined to rule out suspects and learn the ‘solution’ to the mystery. (The missing salmon swam to sea.)
Participating groups will be designated on the map and by a sign at the booth showing the animals and its tracks. When a child successfully matches the track card with a species they will be given an alibi card, showing the animal, its track and its innocence. On the back will be a part of a sentence giving the solution. When all six cards are collected, children will be helped to combine them and learn the answer. They can then return to the beginning and collect their prize for solving the mystery: an ornamental magnifying glass they can keep. They will then be invited to take a post quiz matching the tracks they have recently learned with the wildlife species in question.
Exhibitors will be selected for their knowledge of the topic and willingness to participate. They will be considered ‘sponsors’ of the activity. Sponsor stations will be designated with a sign showing the animal and its tracks. “Alibi” cards and signs will be distributed to sponsors on the morning of the festival by the California Core Watershed Steward Interns, Arianna Topbjerg and Ellen Mills, who will also review the activity with exhibitors.
Amy G. Hall will be simultaneously illustrating a 10 foot square in the plaza with chalk the day before and day of the festival – showing the beaver pond and the wildlife it sustains. Amy is an award-winning street and graphic artist from Napa with a special interest in beavers. Even though she typically receives $1000 a day for similar commissions, she enjoyed her participation so much last year that she has agreed to do this two-day piece without fee provided Worth A Dam pays for needed materials. Susana Park is an ideal venue for this event, and provides an excellent way for exhibitors to spread comfortably around the focal point of Amy’s artwork. Children will be encouraged to draw their own illustrations in the plaza margin, so that by the end of the event attendees will be surrounded by beaver ponds at every level.
After solving the mystery, participants will be invited to complete a short quiz about what they learned in order to gauge activity effectiveness. We have found that parents enjoy seeing what their children remember, and it’s not uncommon for kids to correct their parents proudly during this period. Completed surveys will be raffled for prizes awarded after the festival to assure maximum participation. (We have found a beaver kit puppet makes a great motivator in getting kids eager to complete post quiz!) Results will be analyzed along with sponsor and parent feedback to fine-tune next year’s activity.
Responsible parties:
Project oversight and planning: Heidi Perryman.
Map distribution: Cheryl Reynolds
Beaver pond art: Amy G Hall
Signs & clue card distribution: California Core Watershed Steward Interns
Map Exhibitors: to be chosen from participating exhibits.
Post-test administration: Jon Ridler
Project Budget (itemized):
The following expense list outlines costs for the activity. Note that in-kind donated services include: sponsor consultation and participation, Amy G. Hall two day artwork. Magnifying glasses were offered at a 60% reduced rate from Solid Oak LLC in Rhode Island.
6 alibi cards for suspects x 100 participants 100.00
6 footprint suspect cards x 100 100.00
Top secret envelopes x 100 50.00
Magnifying glasses x 100 300.00
Exhibit location map festival brochure x 500 ` 350.00
5 artist quality 48 Koss soft chalk pastels @ 16.00 ea 90.00
3 pks of children’s 12 soft pastels @ 8.00 ea 30.00
Printing of signs & post tests 30.00
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1050.00 |
Total cost for project:
Eligibility for Grant Requirements:
The Case of the Missing Salmon project meets requirements for 13103(a) by providing a specific curriculum of supervised learning in a unique community setting where children can learn alongside parents and siblings. In solving the mystery children will learn information and wildlife tracks for various species, as well as life cycle information for salmon. While solving this puzzle, Amy’s artwork unfolding ‘under their feet’, will connect them personally to the story of the watershed and its residents. This will be a reminder for all in attendance about the vital role beavers play for salmon.
“The Case of the missing salmon” uses a playful framework to cheerfully illustrate the many species that depend on a beaver pond and how their lives are related. Participating exhibits will be the following:
US Forest Service Marine Mammal Rescue
NOAA Fisheries Mt Diablo Audubon
River Otter Ecology Project East Bay Regional Parks
Requesting Organization:
Worth A Dam is an unincorporated association formed in 2008 to maintain the Martinez beavers in Alhambra Creek. In January 2014, it became a fiscally sponsored project of Inquiring Systems Inc.(ISI), a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation with EIN: 94-2524840. Worth A Dam education and outreach has been instrumental in teaching other cities how and why to live with beavers. The beaver festival has an annual budget of $5000.00. In addition to holding the yearly festival and providing presentations and training on beavers throughout the year, we maintain an internationally visited website, with daily updates on beaver news and research from around the world. Our members are:
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Heidi Perryman – President Cheryl Reynolds – Vice President Jon Ridler – Treasurer Frogard Schmidt – Art |
Lory Bruno – Donations Igor Skaredoff – Watershed Kimberly Robertson – Wildlife Leslie Mills – children’s activity |
[1] Kuo M, Barnes M and Jordan C (2019) Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship. Front. Psychol. 10:305. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg. 2019.00305
