Beaver Fest

11am-4pm May 11th 2024

Lyman Lakes @ Carleton College

Get involved

We hope Beaver Fest serves as a jumping off point for important conversations about how we as a community should live alongside the natural world. 

That's why we are forming the Northfield Beaver Brigade–a grassroots network of local beaver lovers looking hear about strategies promoting coexistence with these remarkable rodents.

Sign up below to join to hear about future beaver-related events.

Meet the beavers for yourself! Click the image above to learn more about this self-guided beaver walk.

What is a beaver festival?

Beavers aren't just cute rodents–they are powerful forces of nature. These crafty critters have the power to reshape landscapes in ways that build new ecosystems, filter bad water, and create climate resilience. Sometimes beavers do their beavering in places we don't want them to–which results in flooded farmland, destroyed trees, and plugged-up culverts.

Beaver festivals bring communities together to enjoy the outdoors, learn about the promises and challenges of living alongside beavers, and talk about our relationship with the natural world.

Why host a beaver festival?

Beavers, just like humans, build homes and dams to change ecosystems around them. Sometimes beavers shape the landscape in ways humans don't like–such as taking down trees, flooding farmland, or chewing on platform decks.

This past year, trappers like Mike Smith in Northfield have seen an increase in the number of calls they get to deal with "nuisance beavers" (beavers causing problems for humans). Even Carleton College has resorted to trapping. While sad, the killing of beavers in our backyard is the perfect opportunity for the community to come together to appreciate the services beavers provide when alive (wildfire protection, climate change mitigation, etc.) and when killed (sustainable fur, meat, and castor harvesting). 

With rebounding beaver populations, human-beaver conflicts only going to become more in the coming years. Carleton Beaver Fest hopes to serve as a vehicle to engage the local community in important conversations about how to live alongside another animal wishing to shape the landscape. 

Join us for an afternoon of learning + fun on Carleton's Campus from 11-4 on Sat. May 11th  

Click on the images below to learn more about this year's festivities!

guests posing in the beaver cutout at beaver fest 2023

Educational Booths

Hear from the Minnesota Science Museum about the Giant Beaver or talk with Ducks Unlimited about how beavers help hunters. This year we are excited to welcome a dozen educational booths for the whole family to learn about beavers: 


a kid cutting out a beaver tail at beaver fest 2023

Fun Activities

We've got a lot going on at Beaver Fest this year! Stop by anytime fro 11-2:30 to tie dye your favorite shirt with natural dyes, decorate a potted plant, make your own tote bag out of fabric scraps, play beaver games and so much more!  Click the image on the right for a full list of activities.

Speakers

We are excited to welcome Dr. Emily Fairfax, local Beaver Trapper Mike Smith, and Minnesota Science Museum curatorial resident Fellow Pejuta Haka Red Eagle.The speakers series will begin at 2:45. All are welcome!

Food

Enjoy free tasty treats baked by the cookie house (Dacie Moses), cotton candy, and snow cones! Ofelia's Fresh Mexican Food Truck will also be selling delicious handcrafted burritos, tostadas, tacos, and enchiladas! Chicken sold by Ofelia's will be sourced from Tree Range Farms.

Beaver Vote

Last year, we voted on names for the 3 beavers living on Lyman Lakes. Since then, Boofer, Thwomp, and Paddles have been living the good life–and it seems their family has grown! Help us name the newest edition to Boofer's family: the 4th Lyman beaver. We'll have another beaver vote at Beaver Fest