Be #WatershedActive Guide

Being #WatershedActive means safely enjoying the watershed's natural resources and actively supporting them for watershed and community health.

In highly urbanized areas, our waterways and open spaces become swallowed by concrete, urban development, stifling community enjoyment and the ability for people to reap the important benefits (or ecosystem services) they provide. The Council for Watershed Health works for healthy watersheds, which, especially in the context of Los Angeles, includes better urban environments for healthier communities. One way to enhance our collective health is through stewardship of our rivers and green spaces. By writing this series and outlining these steps, we encourage our readers to opt for the outdoors, to recognize and appreciate how our open spaces can make us healthier (e.g. by filtering our air, cooling our environments and providing nutritious food) when we prioritize them and we encourage those that resonate with this message to participate in the creation, enhancement and protection of natural, public spaces to improve watershed and community health.

Our  #SummerScienceFriday  blog series on #WatershedActive topics emphasize  safe recreation on the LA River , the  ecosystem services  that natural resources provide for people and the importance of  community stakeholder engagement . This guide will help you identify which watershed you live in and connect you with your local open spaces, teach you how to safely recreate (in Los Angeles), and provide tips and resources to become a #WatershedActive community member. Let's get started!

You should know which watershed you live in before using #WatershedActive! 

What is a watershed?

No matter where you live and how much or how little water is nearby, you live in a watershed. Think of a watershed as a bathtub. No matter where the water falls in the tub, it all leads to a single outlet- the drain! A watershed is an area of land, or drainage basin, that drains water into a common water body such as a river, lake, ocean or estuary. 

Put simply, a watershed can be thought of as an area of land that sheds water into a water body. The water moves through a network of drainage pathways, both underground and on the surface (streams), that converge into progressively larger bodies of water as it moves downstream, eventually reaching all the way to the ocean!

Zoom into your watershed below to find local parks to visit. Natural spaces in the watershed have soil, as opposed to concrete, which allows water to slow, spread and sink into the ground. This process filters water, keeps polluted stormwater and trash from washing into rivers and streams, and increases local water supplies. The more parks the better!  Learn more about the benefits of natural spaces 

We created the LA #WatershedActive Recreation Guide (below) because CWH knows that an important step to empowering watershed stewards is creating awareness about what the watershed has to offer. In the Los Angeles River Watershed, we have trails that lead to refreshing pools of water, the LA River to kayak in, lakes for fishing, and open spaces to explore. With the many outdoor adventures available to Angelenos, it is always important to act as stewards to the watershed and its waterways. Don't forget to read the bottom of the recreation guide for watershed steward tips that apply no matter which watershed you are in!

If you are a community member that values the environment and the  services  it provides, it’s important to know that collectively, we have the power to stimulate the creation, protection and enhancement of natural space. By getting involved with a community-based organization, you join a coalition of people that promise to advocate for your values and can deliver the results you wish to see in your community. Non-profit and community-based organizations are often experienced and better equipped to navigate the legal jargon of city planning needed for managing projects. These organizations are also pivotal in securing funding from local and State sources to plan and implement the projects that a community desires. New projects and their continued success aren't possible without public support which is why we encourage everyone to be a #WatershedActive individual and help steer your community toward a healthier, more sustainable future.

A short list of community-based and #WatershedActive community organizations in the Los Angeles area:

•  Koreatown Youth Community Center 
•  Pacoima Beautiful 
•  From Lot to Spot 
•  TRUST South LA 
•  East Yard Communities 
•  COFEM 
•  SELA Collaborative 
•  Proyecto Pastoral 
•  ActiveSGV 
•  Nature for All 
•  North East Trees 
•  Los Angeles Beautification Team 
•  People for Parks, Los Angeles 
•  Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust 
•  Bresee Foundation 
•  Los Angeles Commnity Garden Council 
•  Unión de Vecinos 

Notice someone missing? Please email additional community organizations to info@watershedhealth.org.

• Here is a short list of groups to get involved with today:
• Trust for Public Land
• CA Native Plant Society
• Tree People
• CA Conservation Corps, Los Angeles
• Theodore Payne Foundation
• The Nature Conservancy
• The National Park Foundation
• The National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program
• National Wildlife Refuge Association
• National Resources Defense Council
• Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
• The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
• Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation
• U.S. Forest Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• California Coastal Conservancy
• San Gabriel and Lower LA Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
• Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority

Stay tuned for the rest of our #SummerScienceFriday blog season as we continue to connect communities to their watershed and empower them to take action toward stewardship.

Council for Watershed Health was founded in 1996 by Dorothy Green to preserve, restore and enhance the Los Angeles and San Gabriel River Watersheds. For twenty years, CWH has worked to promote more efficient use of stormwater resources by providing leadership, guidance, and technical assistance to agencies and organizations to affect sound watershed planning and management. We have a proven track record of strengthening coordination of regional watershed planning, measuring and tracking progress towards achieving healthier urban environments and fostering a regional landscape ethic that reduces water use through the planting of native and regionally appropriate vegetation. Today, our programs reflect the complexity of water resiliency in a changing climate and continue to address diverse themes such as, urban stormwater capture and recharge, community capacity building in multi-benefit green infrastructure projects, watershed monitoring and the implementation of sustainable landscapes.