One Tiny Creek at a Time…

        Here is a story about how one person is making a little difference for his community one tiny creek at a time. Backyard Creeks is an aspiring, new, open- source, non-profit company whose motto is “think Little.”. Backyard Creeks works with little groups to host volunteer stewardship events for little creeks […]

The War of 1812 and The Bread and Cheese Creek

In 2009, a group of people got together and decided that they were going to do something about the pollution in Bread and Cheese Creek near Dundalk, Maryland. They created a non-profit, got sponsors and garnered partnerships with other non-profit organizations with similar goals. Oh, and by the way, they also happened to have facilitated […]

Introduction to the Barton Creek Watershed in Austin, Texas

Topics: Aquatic Life and Importance of Watersheds Barton Creek Greenbelt is a Gem! Photo by Anne Worner. The scenic Barton Creek Watershed flows through Texas Hill Country, following the 50-mile creek straight through the middle of downtown Austin. These 109 square miles drain into Lady Bird Lake, exceeding the contributions of other watersheds. The Barton […]

Guide to Planting Helpful Plants for Creek Restoration

There are a lot of ways to help your local creek system: cleaning up trash from the banks of a stream, addressing Superfund sites, or even changing your car washing habits. All of these actions will improve watershed health. However, an aspect that can be overlooked is the natural habitat around a creek itself, namely […]

Eagle Projects Through Creeklife

Eagle Scout Medal; photo by Ben E (Flickr). The culminating achievement of the Boy Scouts of America is to earn the Eagle Scout rank. Of course, 21 merit badges are required, but a prospective Eagle must also complete a meaningful service project that benefits his community. As we have discussed before, Creeklife can help Boy […]

What Do Your Creek’s Insects Tell You About Its Environmental Health?

Many watershed coordinators, ecofriendly crowdfunders, and other environmental activists are accustomed to the realities of working with limited resources. It’s simply not practical to throw everything at your creek’s problems and hope that something will improve its health. Instead, you need to be able to identify specific problems to target and fix. Illustration by Jonathan […]

Get Your Community Creek Walking

Some people look at creek walking as a fun form of exercise. Others look to a walk on the local creek as chance to meditate on nature, or maybe draw inspiration for some artistic work. Still others walk along their favorite creeks with a critical eye, watching for places where humans have scarred or polluted […]

Creek Restoration in Colorado: the Human Element

In a previous post, we talked about how Colorado’s recent floods devastated the habitats of riparian animals. Of course, it’s hard to mention those ravaged watersheds without turning wondering about the human habitats that were affected. People’s lives were turned into flotsam and jetsam by this unexpected disaster. They are still rebuilding, and efforts to […]

Frozen Creek Snorkeling

I had never heard of creek snorkeling before receiving a message from Keith Williams. It’s exactly what it sounds like: taking a look inside a creek using scuba gear. Now that I know what it is, I almost can’t believe that people do this–especially during winter! A recent post serves to highlight Keith’s intrepid determination: […]

Creek Restoration in Colorado: Crucial to Many Species

“I dreamed of the future, clean skies, water, and soil. Then I awoke and saw nothing but environmental disaster.” So says Bill Heyman, and although his statement is dramatic, it hits on the truth. This is pertinent to the matter at hand: Colorado is known for its natural wonders, from the stark, high mountain peaks […]