Beavers are a true keystone species in our region. They transform small forest streams into sunny ponds that provide habitat for both their families and a wide variety of other plants and animals. At the same time, beavers’ homesteading results in the recharge of water tables and the reduction of erosion and sudden flooding events along streams and small rivers. Their activities ultimately produce a patchwork of sediment-rich, biodiverse beaver meadows and wetlands all across the Northeastern Woodlands.
These fellows, whose scientific name is Castor canadensis, are the largest and most intelligent rodents in North America. They can live for up to fifteen years and can weigh up to 50 pounds. They participate in extended family groups, and are monogamous. Their engineering accomplishments are usuallythe direct outgrowth of their durable, cooperative family structures. (Bachelor beavers do not build dams. Instead, they range about looking for food, new dwelling places, and a partner.) Once paired, beavers share the work of impounding creeks, storing food, and constructing elaborate lodges to shelter babies (all parts of ”niche construction.’) Young beavers are blind and very helpless at birth. They need to spend at least two years with their parents’ for nurture, learning, and protection. During these years, they learn and hone the skills needed for building and maintaining their own dams and lodges, harvesting bark from trees, avoiding enemies, and even caring for the young. (Yearling beavers are actively involved in tending their baby brothers and sisters.)
For this project (probably best for 6 to 9 year olds), encourage your students to imagine and express their understandings of how beavers transform their surroundings. The basic instructions are simply, “Create a paper model of a wetlands habitat / home for a family of beavers.” The finished 3D paper models / dioramas will depict the results of these animals’ activities: ponds and meadows teaming with biodiversity. Children will have an opportunity to use their visual arts skills to translate the verbal information they’ve acquired about beavers (information that has hopefully been augmented with field trips, photos, and nature documentaries) into the construction of model, miniature worlds that endeavor to show “what it all looks like.”
3-D visual arts projects of this sort can provide young people with valuable time for quiet reflection and active assimilation / accommodation of new information. They also present very tangible fine-motor and aesthetic challenges. Encourage the youngsters to add even more plants and animals to the basic few pictured on the activity page. Perhaps they’d like to work in teams. This might take the form of children who are “good at drawing and cutting out hawks” trading their skills and products with friends who have skills regarding the drawing of trees. An art project like this can work for both youngsters who like to be talkative and social at this particular time of their day, and for those who prefer a more contemplative, silent approach (they can work on their independently if they choose). Just be attentive to your youngsters and suggest folks move around to different tables or teams as appropriate. Be prepared for surprises such as a request to gather real twigs and use modeling clay for building the dam and lodge, or a call for construction paper for a collaged river and fish. I truly hope you’ll be able to facilitate such innovations.
In terms of foundational science knowledge, do emphasize the role that ‘keystone species’ such as beavers play in sculpting N.E. forest biomes. Note how they transform their physical environments and enable other creatures to flourish (including a wide array of wetland plants and invertebrates – not just mammals and birds, etc.) Despite their small numbers, beavers make it possible for certain distinct constellations of living beings to thrive in ways that would be impossible were the beavers absent or extirpated . They significantly affect the hydrology and soil formation processes that occur in the N.E. forests. You might also alert children to the existence of other keystone species in other ecosystems. These include elephants, prairie dogs, corals, termites, blue crabs, and wolves – to name just a few. If your class is ready to consider this, you might even mention us humans. Instead of precipitating mass extinctions, how might human beings live so that we become keystone species too enabling a broad diversity of other creatures to continue living well on this beautiful and ancient planet?
Below you’ll see an illustration featuring some basic components for this Beaver Family diorama project. (Just click on that image and you’ll find the button for downloading the activity page.)
EB Beaver Family DioramaOn this website, you’ll also find several lively games related to beavers including a singing, circle game for K – 3rd graders which features an acting and guessing component. That game is called “When the Beavers Build their Dam.” There’s also a chasing and collecting game for 3rd and 4th graders which works well with studies of beavers. It’s called “Parental or Intergenerational Care,” and it can be suitable for older students too. These games are described in a pdf accessible on a page titled: Natural Start Alliance Conference: Traditional Games Workshop – A Draft of the Activities Collection “Circling the Sun, Racing the Wind.” The game descriptions also include correlations to the Next Generation Science Standards. An audio version of a melody for the game “When the Beavers Build their Dam,” is available separately on the page titled “Natural Start Alliance Conference Traditional Games Workshop – Song Lyrics and Melodies ‘There”s a Mosquito in these Woods’ and ‘When the Beavers Build a Dam.” Combining visual arts projects with a field trip and a lively game or two can create a very enjoyable and memorable learning experience for all involved!