Dear Friend of the Watersheds,
Greetings from The Watershed Project team! Our best wishes to you for a peaceful holiday season filled with joyful moments and a healthy and prosperous 2023.
Giving Tuesday is coming up on November 29 and we hope you’ll join us by making a gift to support environmental education, coastal cleanups, green infrastructure, and climate resilience in the SF Bay Area. All gifts through November 30 will be matched up to $10,000!
As we look towards the future, water is at the heart of our work—water is central to climate change, to drought, to forest fires, to healthy urban parks and open spaces, to life itself!
Text WATERSHED to 44321
Here are just a few of the highlights from our work in 2022:
- Green Schools in San Francisco…Coming soon to Richmond and Oakland
In partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District, The Watershed Project launched a pilot program aimed at students from under-resourced high schools interested in the trades. It’s a jointly taught, hands-on class introducing participants to green infrastructure for rainwater capture in schoolyards and future work pathways. The class also visits SFUSD elementary and middle schools to repair existing cistern rain capture systems and teach younger students.
- Rheem Creek: San Pablo, Richmond, and Unincorporated Contra Costa County
For over 20 years, Rheem Creek neighborhoods have suffered from flooding related to creek overflows. The City of Richmond, American Rivers, The Watershed Project, Restoration Design Group, the Coastal Conservancy, and Contra Costa College have partnered on a multi-phased project to restore ecological function to the Rheem Creek watershed. We’re implementing watershed-wide nature-based solutions that benefit people, wildlife, and the economy.
- A New Natural Shoreline and Sea-Level Buffer in North Richmond
This big project is imagining a new shoreline along a 5-mile stretch of the San Francisco Bay in North Richmond. A climate-resilient shoreline that has more natural edges to help buffer frontline communities from sea-level rise and one that provides local jobs and recreation. Community members have been decision-makers in the vision and design of this project since the beginning and we are grateful to our Indigenous community members who will help us bring important cultural and historical contexts to this project.
These are just some of the ways that The Watershed Project is going more deeply into our work. Your gift, which will be matched for Giving Tuesday, is an important investment into building climate resiliency in the Bay Area. Together, we can keep this work going strong in 2023.
For a Healthy and Resilient Bay Area,
Juliana González
Executive Director
P.S. Will your employer match your donation? Many employers match employee gifts, and the email receipt you will receive from us is often all you need to see your gift matched!
