Walking WaterHoods
What about reimagining watersheds as neighborhoods – Waterhoods? To deal with climate change, people need to get reconnected to the ecosystems and their waterhoods so that we have a better understanding of what we ALL need – humans, other animals, and plants alike. We humans often think of ourselves as separate from nature, when we ourselves “are nature.” Rather than seeing the external natural world as resources to extract, get to know your waterhood and all your neighbors.
Wherever you are, you’re in a watershed, which is technically described as an area of land where rainwater collects and drains into a river or bay. But watersheds are more than drainage basins—they include diverse ecological communities, neighborhoods of interacting flora (plants) and fauna (animals). This is why we like to refer to them as “waterhoods,” short for “watershed neighborhoods.”
Photo: Nick Williams
To help people get to know their local waterhoods, we have created interactive online tours loaded with points of interest capturing human and natural history, as well as social justice stories and heroes. The great news is, walkers can submit their own points of interest to be added to the tour as well, making it a “people’s tour”.
Our digital walking tours lead you along Bay Area creeks. You’ll learn about local history, meet your waterhood neighbors, and follow the hidden paths of undergrounded creeks. With Wholly H2O as your tour guide, these educational excursions bring the classroom outdoors, combining local history and ecology into an interactive adventure.
Livestreams
Bring your classroom to the watershed
Are you a teacher, school administrator, or homeschooling parent? Science and history teachers can use the creek tours, broken up into one mile segments for easy walkability, as class content and assignments, as each tour is accompanied with curriculum-building ideas. Contact us to learn more about how Wholly H2O’s educational programs can complement your curriculum.
Ready to meet your waterhood? Find our self-guided tours on the PocketSights app; Check out our YouTube channel for virtual tours around East Bay watersheds.
Download the PocketSights app to bring take a guided tours online or in-person in a SF Bay Area watershed
Explore our livestream library for an indepth dive into a specific location in a watershed.
Find out which Bay Area watershed you belong to!