Past Symposia

2023 Contra Costa County Creek and Watershed Symposium
INTERGENERATIONAL WATERSHED STEWARDSHIP
October 26, 2023
Pleasant Hill Community Center, Pleasant Hill, CA

Click here to see the conference program!

CCTV filmed the Symposium and produced the following videos of the day’s presentations:

Breakout Session 2 - Following the Oodles of Money for Nature in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act
Kate Golden, Digital Editor, Bay Nature

Watershed Roundtable
The Watershed Roundtable spotlights organizations doing creek work and gives them an opportunity to give brief updates on their activities. It’s a great way to learn about amazing groups doing extraordinary things throughout Contra Costa County.

Why 30x30 Gives Me Hope
Annie Burke, Executive Director, TOGETHER Bay Area

Home2Headwaters: A 240-mile Journey to Trace My Drinking Water
Nina Gordon-Kirsch, Water Educator, Home2Headwaters
in conversation with Rohan Tyagi, Student, SLIA (Sustainable CoCo) and Zachary Drummond, Water Quality Monitoring Technician, The Watershed Project

Breakout Session 1 - Empowering the Next Generation: Youth Employment for Environmental Impact
Moderator: Itzel Gomez, Environmental Program Analyst, City of San Pablo
Panelists: Anne Bremirez, Program Director, The Watershed Project; Mary Cherry, Farm Manager, Family Harvest Farm; Solwazi Allah, Watershed Restoration Field Crew Manager, Urban Tilth; Vencel Alfred, Camp-to-Community Fellows Coordinator, YES Nature to Neighborhoods

Envisioning a Healthier Walnut Creek Watershed
Claudia Gemberling, Principal Environmental Analyst, Contra Costa County Public Works Department, Environmental Services Division and Dick Heron, Board Member, Walnut Creek Watershed Council (standing in for Bob Simmons, President, Walnut Creek Watershed Council)

Relationship Is the Most Powerful Resilience
Doria Robinson, Executive Director, Urban Tilth and Richmond City Councilmember

Test Plot: An Ongoing Experiment in Community Landcare
Jen Toy, Landscape Architect, Test Plot

Watershed Restoration Projects: Partnerships in Action
John Steere, Watershed Planner, Contra Costa County Watershed Program; Juliana Gonzalez, Executive Director, The Watershed Project; Laura Cremin, Environmental Analyst III, Contra Costa County Public Works Department, Environmental Services Division; John Cain, Senior Conservation Director, River Partners; and Sarah Puckett, Director, California Central Valley River Conservation, American Rivers

Awards Presentation
During the Forum’s quadrennial Symposia, the Forum presents awards to acknowledge exceptional community members and projects that have helped improve, restore, or protect Contra Costa’s watersheds.