Do you know that nagging feeling you get when you know you need to do something but you can’t remember what? Yesterday I finally paid attention to it and realized I was supposed to send the CCC Fish and Wildlife commission a summary of the festival with an accounting of how their grant was spent. It’s honestly really hard to remember that long ago in this beaver whirlwind. But I did the best I could.
Summary of “Working for the ecoSystem” 08-05-17
The tenth annual beaver festival was both familiar and surprising, with over 1000 attendees , 40 wildlife exhibits, a lecture on beaver benefits given BY a beaver, and for the first time unexpected beaver experts from three separate states. Each had heard about the festival and wanted to come see in person the educational component we offered. We were excited by the interest, but the many children were mostly excited about wildlife tattoos and eager to begin their treasure hunt while learning.
Rather than place the tattoos on beaver tails, we decided to help the children make nature journals with beaver chew bindings so their earnings could be proud displayed on the covers. We hoped this would let them record the nature they saw later in their own lives. The watershed stewards helped children make the journals, and Worth A Dam volunteers helped the children affix the tattoos to the covers. One of the most delightful parts of the day was watching children’s eyes light up when the watercolor images ‘appeared’ on their journals as if by magic.
About half of the children completed the simple post-test (n=48) with a 85% accuracy rating. The participating booths said that distribution was smooth and everyone admired the tattoos and wanted their own. Attached you will find the invoice for the tattoos and leatherette, as well as the printing costs for the map children used to find booths. Thank you again for supporting this wonderful eco-learning event!
This week I’m headed to Kiwanis to tell THEM how their grant was used, and give them a run down of the festival. I also plan to mention that the beavers are back and if they have any friends near Creekside Montessori to let them know to contact us to have their trees protected. Meanwhile, Jon and I are working on a little banner for the booth using our leftover tattoos. I got the idea after appreciating the neat butterfly swag they had at the butterfly garden booth this year at the festival. Why not make our own? (Although peeling off the plastic gives me RENEWED appreciation for the outstanding job Erika and Jon did at the festival.) This is about half finished – a 10 foot linen swag and we think it’s going to be lovely. We plan to use it first at the Visions of the Wild Forest Service Event we’re doing in September in American Canyon.
Meanwhile I was contacted this morning by Karen Corker of Maine whose great letter I wrote about earlier. She would like access to the ecosystem poster to use for her beaver education program i
n Maine. In case your keeping track at home that’s three states where it’s been adopted so far.
Four if you count California.
Oh, and I included one additional item in my grant summary for the CCCFWC. This was in the New Yorker years ago. I dearly love it, but I don’t see why it’s funny at all.
