Beaver Believer
2024 Street Wise Mural Festival
Location: West-facing exterior wall of The Rayback Collective along Elmer's Two Mile Path, 2775 Valmont Rd, Boulder, CO 80304
Photos by Dona and Niko Laurita, and Cam Margera
Are you a Beaver Believer? That’s the question posed by Lindee Zimmer’s mural for #SWMF2024. Her project celebrates the beaver in making healthy ecosystems possible through their contributions to water management, biodiversity, fire mitigation, and wetland creation.
Lindee takes a surrealist and whimsical look at the beaver’s role as a keystone species. A pink, red, and purple mountain range rises in the distance above an orange landscape. A bright blue river cuts through the fiery landscape, running from source waters in the mountains. Eventually the river waters curl toward the beaver, funneling into a stick the beaver will use to build a dam.
Through dam construction, beavers transform small streams into broad wetland areas. More water is retained as wetlands expand, keeping plants lush and resistant to fire. These wetlands serve as natural fire breaks, slowing the spread of wildfires. Beavers also thin fire fuel by cutting trees to build dams. The fire-resistant habitats that surround beavers provide refuge for wildlife.
In Beaver Believer, the beaver himself, although surrounded by shades of oranges, appears submerged in water, his feet and bottom half invisible to the viewer. The artist renders the beaver’s fur and tail by blending various shades of brown to reveal its various textures. A thumbprint pattern stamps the end of his tail. Lindee plays with perspective in her mural, inflating the beaver to appear larger in scale compared to the animals that surround him. Additionally, the mural lacks a clear horizon line, foreground, and background. These elements lend themselves to the mural’s surrealist aesthetic and subject matter in celebration of the beaver.
Surrounding the beaver the viewer finds various endangered species, whose livelihoods depend on the beaver. The Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly lands on a flower that towers above a fluffy grey wolf and mule deer speckled with pink spots, who both peer out at the viewer. A whooping crane flies amidst a sky full of fluffy clouds. Along the banks of the river sit a pink and red boreal toad and barred tiger salamander with stripes of yellow and brown. A greenback cutthroat trout swims in the river toward the beaver and his stick.
Along the right side of the mural, Heatherwood Elementary School students contributed their ideas and artistic skills to Lindee’s project after a unit about beavers. The school worked with Classrooms for Climate Action to learn what it means to be a beaver climate activist. Lindee and the students drew inspiration from bacterial and microorganisms that live in beaver ponds, allowing each student to add their own small design. Their work highlights the small but important parts of an ecosystem that we often cannot see.
This mural was made possible through the Boulder Watershed Collective as a part of BeaverCon 2024. The project included close partnerships and conversations with local watershed and climate practitioners and leaders from Harvest of All First Nations, Boulder Flycasters, and COOL Boulder.
These conversations brought up the history of and our human connection to water in the American West. The beaver is central to rehydrating parched landscapes, creating wildfire buffers, replenishing groundwater, and supporting homes for many species. We hope this mural makes you feel connected to beavers, and more deeply aware of the coupling of beavers with healthy watersheds.
Resources and How to Get Involved:
Access the following resources to learn more about beaver coexistence and relocation work, as well as other meadow and river restoration work, and nature based solutions projects being done locally!
The Boulder Watershed Collective
COOL Boulder - City of Boulder’s Climate Initiative Department
Boulder Flycasters - a Colorado Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Thank you to our Partners & Sponsors!
About the Artist:
Lindee is an artist, organizer & teacher. she has been facilitating community projects & painting murals for over 10 years around the world. she is currently residing on land of the tohono o’odham in Tucson, AZ.