Teach Your Kids To 'Give A Dam': Upcoming Beaver Festival In Martinez

From Heidi Perryman:

Worth A Dam is pleased to announce that the first 150 children attending the Beaver Festival on Aug. 1 will be able to collect 19 wildlife pins designed by Oakland artist Mark Poulin and purchased with a grant from the CCC Wildlife Commission.

The activity will highlight the new wildlife seen in Alhambra Creek since the beavers arrived, and emphasize their role as a Keystone Species.

The beloved annual festival will feature live music, beaver tours, children’s activities, and more than 40 ecological booths. Initially a response to the controversy regarding the beavers, the festival has become one of the largest and best attended wildlife events in the State, inspiring a similar festival in Utah.

This year in particular, there’s a lot for beaver-fans to celebrate, as acclaimed wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas has been photographing the Martinez beavers for the past two months in preparation for a feature in NWF’s Ranger Rick. This award-winning children’s magazine boasts amazing photography and fascinating stories: the perfect place to show case the famous Martinez Beavers.

Although she has worked with Cheetahs in the Savanna, Chimps in Uganda and Penguins in Antarctica, Eszterhas had never seen anything quite like Martinez where she was forced to contend with trains, traffic, homeless, and, she says “one unexpected proposal of marriage.”

Despite the urban hazards she was thrilled to be allowed such an up close encounter with beavers, who are hard to see in most locations. She was especially delighted to see how closely knit the beaver family was. And says, “Working with the Martinez beavers has given me a special, up-close view of a mysterious animal that is often shy and elusive. It has been privilege to watch the family live out their fascinating lives right in downtown Martinez! I applaud Worth A Dam and the city of Martinez for their work in being a model for coexistence.”

You can hear all about the visits, bid on her books and more at the silent auction, or just find about more about the beavers by joining this year’s Annual Festival. Come learn how one city improved its creek by living with beavers. It promises to be a ‘dam’ good time!

Details:

Beaver Festival VIII – Sponsored by Worth A Dam
August 1st, 2015. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Beaver Park” in downtown Martinez.