fairy circles truly a fairy tale

8/18/2019 Fairy Circles Truly a Fairy Tale

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FAIRY CIRCLES

-

a true fairy tale

Danielle Bruckert


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Fairy CirclesFor Frost

Publishers Note:Published by Red Sky Ventures

Written by Danielle Bruckert © 20! ""#B$#N"

First %dition &ctober 20!

More books like this one are available athttp://www.freekidsbooks.org

More information about NaDEET can be found at

http://www.nadeet.org

Contact the author at:

danielleredsk!ventures.org

This work is licensed under theCreative Commons

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

3.0 License.

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This te#t is $ree $or non-commercial distribution and use.

An" use must be attributed to the creator% and a link provided to

http:www.$reekidsbooks.or!.

No part o$ this te#t ma" be reproduced $or commercial use

without the e#press permission o$ the creator.

The book is dedicated to Na&''T% a $oundation

$or education% research% and preservation o$ the

Namib &esert. All proceeds $rom sale o$ the hard-cop"

book will be donated to Na&''T.

(ore about Na&''T can be $ound here

http:www.nadeet.or!

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FAIRY CIRCLES

# a true fairy tale

T his book belongs t:

_________________________________


4/27

On the South West coast of Africa there is a

magical place called Namibia.

My family and I are travelling there for our

vacation.

Namibia is like a land that time has forgotten.The land has been untouched for so long many

people believe it has turned magical.

!A"# $


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%or e&ample the Wel'itschia is like a living fossil (A

plant that may have been alive for over a $))) years* +et

only has t'o leaves.

. ...That,s kind of magical.

!A"# -


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Or the 'onderful colours of the desert 'hich change 'ith

the changing light of the day.

Some of the highest dunes in the 'orld are there.

The desert itself is one of the oldest

'hich is 'hy it is such a deep red in places.

!A"#


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There are the Tsaris mountains that seem to sho' the

many layers of the earth,s crust.

There is a place 'here the S'akop /iver carved

spectacular moonscapes in the granite rock around 01)

million years ago.

!A"# 0


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And then there are the FAIRY CIRCLES.

They dot the Namib 2esert like a spotted handkerchief.

!A"# 1


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Scientists think these circles may be created by

termites

...or perhaps by fungi.

3a fungi is a little bit like a mushroom or that is to say a

mushroom is a type of fungi4

5ut they don,t kno' for sure.

!A"# 6


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I think they are created by fairies.

After all 'hy else 'ould

they be called 7%airy 8ircles9:

!A"# ;


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%airy 8ircles only occur

in the Namib 2esert in the 'est

of Namibia on

the edge of the

escarpment

'here the

desert,s rainfall is highest.

!erhaps this

is because the

fairies choose to only

hold their magical fairy

conferences in theNamib 2esert since it is

such a special magical

place.

Or perhaps it is because there are lots of big open

spaces 'ith very fe' people or even animals in the

Namib 2esert.

!A"#


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!A"# =

2o you think they dance in the day or night9

I bet they choose to dance on the plains of the desertin the small hours of the morning.

Or perhaps they dance during the day time 'hen no

one is looking.

Wherever and 'henever they dance they leave theperfectly formed fairy circles. Where nothing gro's

inside only around the edge.


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%airy 8ircles come in lots of different si>es. Most are a

fe' metres 'ide. Some are very big big enough to hold

a small herd of goats or calves? Others are very small so

small you can hardly see them.

%airy 8ircles may be less than $ metre up to as big as )

metres 'ide*

!A"# $)


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!erhaps the big ones are made by big fairies and the

small ones are made by small fairies.

!erhaps the big giant ones like this one are made by a"iant @ueen Mother fairy 'ho is the biggest fairy ofthem all.

!erhaps she has many minion fairies 'ith her to help

'ith the dances.

!A"# $$


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The first ever symposium about %airy 8ircles 'as held

in -)$1. 3A symposium is a big meeting 'here lots of

e&perts get together4.

They held it in the Namib 2esert ( of course*

I bet they had lots of fun and learnt a lot.

B.5ut.... they all agreed they are still not sure 'hat

causes %airy 8ircles.

!A"# $-


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When 'e get to see the Namib 2esert I 'ant to ask

Mum and 2ad if I can get up really early?

To see if I can catch a glimpse of the fairies

dancing.

!A"# $


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What do you think causes %airy 8ircles9

I still think it is fairies and I really hope I 'ill see someso then I can tell you for sure.

!A"# $0


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With or 'ithout the fairies help

if 'e all do our part to help look after the environmentthe fairy circles 'ill be around for a long time

forall of us to enCoy*

!A"# $1


19/27

Danielle Bruckert

THE END

'ckno(led)e*ents

+hanks to all those (ho ha,e *ade

their -hotos a,ailable in "reati,e "o**ons.

+hanks to NaD%%+ for

their -artnershi- on this -ro/ect.

+hanks to friends and fa*ily for all the assistance (ith early drafts and

es-ecially those (ho hel-ed (ith editin) ad,ice.

+hanks to Vicky and Nils

"reati,e "o**ons contributors:

+horsten Becker Feenkreise 1ans Stie)lit2 .

%ditin) "ontributions:

Brenda Whittaker 'nita Reddin) 3anika 4.

+hanks to +he Na*ibian for a 5uote fro* their article on Fairy "ircles

htt-:66(((.na*ibian.co*.na6inde7.-h-8id9;f you liked this book -lease lea,e a

re,ie( here:

?any *ore books like this are

a,ailable here:

htt-:66(((.freekidsbooks.or)

Su--ort NaD%%+ here:

htt-:66(((.nadeet.or)6

?ore about fairy circles here:

htt-:66(((.fairycircles.co*6

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Hans_Stieglitzhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Hans_Stieglitzhttp://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=134604&page=archive-readhttp://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=134604&page=archive-readhttp://www.freekidsbooks.org/http://www.nadeet.org/http://www.fairycircles.com/http://www.fairycircles.com/http://www.nadeet.org/http://www.freekidsbooks.org/http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=134604&page=archive-readhttps://sites.google.com/site/kanikagebooks/homehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Hans_Stieglitzhttp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feenkreis


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Fairy CirclesFairy "ircles are *ysterious in nature and a--earance. No one kno(s (hat causes

Fairy "ircles althou)h there has been a lot of research co*-leted on the to-ic byscientists. +he *ost co**on theories are:

●sand ter*ites@●al)ae or fun)i beneath

the surface@●residual -lant to7ins

Aresidual -oisons re*ainin)

after the death of certain -lants@●co*-etin) ,e)etation ecosyste*s@●fairies Aor -erha-s dra)ons or

)ods but *ostly fairies@#.

Fairy "ircles occur only in the Na*ib Desert. +hey are *ainly found on the eastern

border (here the rain fall is hi)hest.Fairy "ircles ran)e fro* around *etre

u- to 0 *etres. Really bi) Fairy "ircles

are so*eti*es used by local tribes as akraal for li,estock.

'lbi Bruckner Na*ibRand founder

co**entsC>* )lad they didnt End the

cause as it *akes such a )reat story. C>t is )reat that there is so*ethin) out

there that cant be e7-lained by

scientists. We need *ysteries in life and

be able to *ar,el and re,ere Nature in

(onder and a(eGadds Nils the

or)aniser of the 20! sy*-osiu*.

FUN FACTS

We a)reeG +here are not *any *a)ical

thin)s left in this (orld this is one of

the* it deser,es a story.


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+he ofEcial lan)ua)e is %n)lish but there are

t(el,e different lan)ua)es s-oken in Na*ibia

includin) nine tribal lan)ua)es. +he Da*ara and

Na*a lan)ua)es utilise clicks si*ilar to that of the

3alahari bush*en.

+here are *any a*ain) natural (onders (ithin

the country:

# +he Fish Ri,er "anyon is the lar)est canyon in

'frica and takes E,e days to (alk throu)h.

# +he &,ahi*ba tribe in the North des-ite bein)

one of the (ealthiest tribes in the country still li,e

the sa*e (ay they ha,e for hundreds of years.

# +he Wel(itschia -lant is called a li,in) fossil as

so*e -lants ha,e been ali,e for o,er 000 years.# +he Skeleton "oast is fa*ous for its lar)e nu*ber

of shi- (recks ,icti*s of the coastal fo) and

unfor)i,in) (aters of the 'tlantic &cean.

# +he 5uaint and -ictures5ue coastal to(n of

S(ako-*und -ro,ides details of Na*ibias 4er*an

colonial herita)e and lots of fun for tourists.

NamibiaNa*ibia lies on 'fricas West "oast.

>t is bordered on the %ast by the

3alahari Desert and in the West by the

Na*ib Desert and the 'tlantic "oastline.

+he only -er*anent ri,ers in the country for* the Northern and Southern borders.

>ts nei)hbourin) countries are 'n)ola Bots(ana and South 'frica. +he ti- of the

"a-ri,i Stri- e7tends to(ards Victoria falls (here four countries Bots(ana

Ha*bia Hi*bab(e and Na*ibia *eet. Na*ibia is one of the least -o-ulated

countries in the (orld. 't the ti*e of (ritin) it is second only to ?on)olia. +here are

a--ro7i*ately 2.2 *illion -eo-le in I2!000 s5uare k*.


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+he Na*ib Desert is (here Na*ibia deri,es its na*e fro*. >t stretches the len)th of Na*ibias West coast and includes the infa*ous stretch of coastline kno(n as the

Skeleton "oast. >t s-reads inland fro* the coast u- to the shar- rise of the

escar-*ent (ith the +saris and Naukluft *ountains -ro*inent border features.

+he Na*ib is one of the *ost di,erse deserts in the (orld and *ay be one of the

oldest. >t has one of the lar)est nu*ber of ende*ic s-ecies of any desert in the

(orld. With the annual rainfall bet(een 2** and 200** de-endin) on the area it

is Southern 'fricas only true desert.

'n increase in eco#touris* has seen *any li,estock far*s in the Na*ib con,erted

into (ildlife sanctuaries allo(in) the ende*ic s-ecies to thri,e. 'ni*als found in

the Na*ib include the *a/estic ory7 Aor )a*sbok Na*ibias national ani*al lar)e

nu*bers of fur seal the endan)ered desert rhino and desert ele-hant and *any

*ore.

+he Na*ib hosts so*e of the hi)hest -er*anent dunes in the (orld. Dune J isa--ro7i*ately 2!0ft hi)h. +he stunnin) Sossus,lei Valley -ro,ides o--ortunity to

cli*b so*e of these dunes (ith Bi) Daddy bein) the *ost -o-ular for ascent and a

,ery close second in hei)ht to Dune J at a--ro7i*ately !0ft.

.

The Namib Desert


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QUESTIONSWhat causes Fairy "ircles8

'. fun)i B. ter*ites ". fairies

D. no one really kno(s

Where do they occur8

'. Na*ib Desert B. Sahara Desert

". 3alahari Desert D. on *y dessert@

Where is Na*ibia8

'. 'frica B. 'sia ". '*erica D. 'tlantis

What is a Wel(itschia8

'. -lant B. ani*al ". fossil D. insurance

ACTIVITIES

1ere are so*e ideas for a -ro/ect about

Na*ibia:

. Research one of the to-ics in this book and

create a story board or article (ith -ictures and

infor*ation about (hat you ha,e found.

2. Dra( a -aintin) of one of the -lants or

areas in this book.

. '--ly to /oin one of the youn) researchers

ca*-s in the Na*ib Desert.

When tra,ellin) to Na*ibia:

;. "reate a tra,el /ournal (hen you are ,isitin) the Na*ib Desert includin)

-ictures and interestin) infor*ation about (here you ha,e been.

!. "ollect so*e sa*-les of rock sand -lants feathers and other ite*s that can

be found in the desert Aensure not to disturb the natural habitat.


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A!"t a Fairy Circle !# Y!$r O%&'1el- the Na*ib Rand "onser,ation Foundation and fairy circles e,ery(hereG

If you love the concept of fairy circles,for a very modest sum of ZAR1000 you

can adopt your very own Fairy Circle, to help protect thedesert and the fairy circles for future generations to come.

The NamibRandConservation Foundation(NRCF) is a not-for-profitorganisation. It seeks topromote and assist in anyway with environmenta!onservation" edu!ationand resear!h undertakenon the NamibRand NatureReserve and the south-western Namib region.

The NamibRand NatureReserve is whereNa#$$T ives.


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Ab!$t this (r!)ect 'll -roceeds fro* sale of the book (ill )o directly to NaD%%+ for the beneEt of

nature conser,ation and desert research and education in Na*ibia.

+his book is a,ailable for free for distribution attribution *ust be -ro,ided to

httpDEE'''.freekidsbooks.org and http://www.nadeet.org/ .

'ny -roceeds fro* this book *ust be donated to NaD%%+. No deri,ati,es.

Ab!$t NaDEET +he Na*ib Desert %n,iron*ental %ducation +rust ANaD%%+ is a non#-roEt

Na*ibian trust established in 200. +he NaD%%+ "entre is located 00 k* south of

Sesrie*6Sossus,lei on the Na*ibRand Nature Reser,e and the head ofEce is

located in the coastal city of S(ako-*und. NaD%%+ belie,es en,iron*ental

education *ust not only increase a(areness and kno(led)e but also eco#friendly

attitudes and skills in Na*ibias youth and educators to -ro*ote -artici-ation.

To contact NaDEET write to [email protected]

More information about NaDEET is available at:

http://www.nadeet.org/

Ab!$t the A$th!rDanielle Bruckert

Danielles heart (as ca-tured by Na*ibia (hen she Erst arri,ed there. Peo-le

al(ays ask her ho( she could lea,e NH Aa country so*e call 4od Hone ho-efully

this book (ill hel- e7-lain. She s-ent *any years Kyin) o,er the beautiful Na*ib

Desert as a charter -ilot and (hen asked about the stran)e dotted landsca-e she

lo,ed e7-lainin) to -assen)ers CWhy else (ould they ha,e such a na*e theyre*ade by fairies of course

With a -assion for childrens books and a desire to -ro*ote literacy Danielle

created the (ebsite Free 3ids Books to share free childrens books and literacy

*aterial (here *any of her o(n books can be found.

To contact the author write to [email protected]

!r use the contact form at http://www.freekidsbooks.org

http://www.freekidsbooks.org/http://www.nadeet.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.nadeet.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.freekidsbooks.org/http://www.freekidsbooks.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.nadeet.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.nadeet.org/http://www.freekidsbooks.org/


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airy Circles

"trul! a fair! tale

On a visit to the Namib Desert, the mysterious

phenomenon of Fairy Circles is discovered.

Are they really caused by fairies?

A fun look at fairy circles and the Namib Desert with a

creative mi of fact and ima!ination.

*ORE +OO,S'Other books available from the author:

fairy circles truly a fairy tale

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