Stream Stewards
Stream stewards are Sonoma Valley residents who have organized to form stewardship groups. Each group has a leader and stewards who commit to a stretch, a particular section of creek in the Sonoma Valley watershed. Stewards and leaders are volunteers. Together they drive and set the agenda for the group.
- For a list of stewardship groups, open the Stream Stewards tab and menu. For information about a particular group in the list, such as how to get involved, click its name.
- For maps showing stewardship locations, open the Maps tab and click Stewardship Groups.
Stream Stewards and their leaders initiate and organize creek walks and cleanups, participate in citizen science, organize letter writing campaigns, attend the educational Water Wisdom Forum, Tour & Workshop series and more. Over 500 residents have joined a stewardship group, attended a restoration tree planting, or attended an event as part of the Water Wisdom series.
Stream Stewards on a Water Wisdom Tour learn about the hydrology and wetland of Ernie Smith Community Park in Sonoma.
Other benefits of stewardship involvement are the potential to develop larger-scale creek restoration projects. Stream Stewards receive technical and organizational support from Sonoma Ecology Center, Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District, and other public and nonprofit organizations which facilitate these larger projects in conjunction with regulatory agencies.
Stream Stewards remove tarps used to smother and starve weeds at Nathanson Creek Preserve.
Most Stream Stewards in the upper Sonoma Creek stewardship area, from Kenwood to Glen Ellen, are creekside homeowners, but there is no requirement to live on a creek bank to be a Stream Steward. Most Stream Stewards in urban Sonoma do not live along the creek and are scattered throughout the City. Stewards can also be members of several stewardship groups.
Stream Stewards, Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District and Sonoma Ecology Center host a booth at the annual Glen Ellen fair.
Ready to get involved?
Review the list of established groups, choose a group that interests you and find out more about it. For a list of stewardship groups, open the Stream Stewards menu. For information about a particular group in the list, click its name.
The current stewardships are in two geographic areas: upper Sonoma Creek and urban Sonoma. The upper Sonoma Creek area, from Kenwood to Glen Ellen, includes five stewardships, all of them focused on a particular stretch of Sonoma Creek. The three Sonoma groups steward Sonoma Creek at Maxwell Farms Regional Park and two of its major tributaries, Fryer and Nathanson creeks. For maps showing stewardship locations, open the Maps tab and then click Stewardship Groups.
Do you want to participate in the care of the creeks and environment without joining a stewardship group? You can attend public events like creek cleanups, tree planting workdays or the Water Wisdom series. For more information about public events, click the Events tab.
Are you interested in participating in a stewardship group but live near a creek without a group? Send an email to Julie Jehly, Watershed Stewardship Coordinator and Website Editor at Sonoma Ecology Center for information about starting a new group.