Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Beaver Believers Film and Panel

Join us for some social time with light refreshments, a movie and a chance to hear from local experts about beavers in Arizona. Movie will start at 5pm. About the film Sometimes the best solutions to the biggest problems can be found in the most unexpected places. Meet the beaver believers: five scientists and a sassy, spicy hairdresser who are tackling climate change one stick at a time. The Beaver Believers is the urgent yet whimsical story of an unlikely cadre of activists who share a common vision: restoring the North American Beaver, that most industrious, ingenious, bucktoothed engineer, to the watersheds of the arid West. The Beaver Believers encourage us to embrace a new paradigm for managing our western lands, one that seeks to partner with the natural world rather than overpower it. As a keystone species, beaver enrich their ecosystems, creating the complexity and resiliency our watersheds need to absorb the impacts of climate change. Beavers can show us the way and even do much of the work for us, if only we can find the humility to trust in the restorative power of nature and our own ability to play a positive role within it. Shot in 8 western US states, Mexico, and Canada, through desert drought, raging wild fires, spring floods, and wetland tranquility, this film will change the way you think about climate change and inspire you to step up to confront the challenges we face. Our Panel We will hear from two Arizona Game & Fish staff and Friends of the Verde River about work being done to help Arizona beavers. Transportation: Self Drive Location: Cottonwood Rec Center, Room 1 Meal: Light Appetizers and beverages Cost: $25 Capacity: 50       Part of the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival Join us 100 miles North of Phoenix in North Central Arizona’s Verde Valley for the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival. Experience birding during the peak Spring migration season at Dead Horse Ranch State Park on the banks of the Verde River. Close proximity to the Verde, Oak Creek, Sycamore Creek, and other perennial waters offers a wide selection of guided tours, hikes, and workshops in one of Arizona’s richest birding habitats. Our experienced guides have extensive knowledge of birds and the unique habitat that makes this region special. The festival, presented each April by Friends of the Verde River, is a purpose-driven community benefit organization and 501© 3 non-profit working to preserve one of the last perennial flowing rivers in the American Southwest. Festival site is at Dead Horse Ranch State Park.