Past Programs

Creekkeeper Volunteer Program

On the Russian River many watershed problems, legal violations and individual actions contribute to the degradation of our River. Russian Riverkeeper's job is to keep an eye on the river to document and report such activities to educate lawmakers, lawbreakers and the general public. Most public resource agencies simply do not have the resources to address each and every problem.

In order to better cover a 1500 square mile watershed, Russian Riverkeeper received a grant from the Community Foundation of Sonoma County to recruit, train and deploy 24 Creekkeeper Volunteers to augment the Riverkeeper work.

Creekkeeper Volunteers then adopted sections of the mainstem Russian River, rural creeks, urban creeks and issue areas such as gravel mining and construction site and urban stormwater pollution.

The Creekkeeper Academy consisted of 5 classroom sessions and one field trip class on the river. Each class was two and a half hours and fast paced with presentations by various agencies and experts. Creekkeeper Volunteers learned about: watershed dynamics and biology, the laws and regulations that protect or watershed, how to recognize and document violations, water quality science and monitoring, identification of fish, wildlife and riparian plants, their role as ambassadors, and river safety.