The Russian River Watershed Association’s (RRWA) third annual Creek Week is Sept. 15-22.  Creek Week is a weeklong celebration of our local creeks.  Throughout the RRWA, cities, counties and other stewardship organizations are coming together to declare Sept. 15-22 Creek Week. 

This will be a time of fun, adventure, and taking care of the lands and waterways in our communities, with educational activities for everyone at local creeks and nature areas, as well as hands-on creek cleanups. The activities planned during this weeklong celebration will draw communities together and bring us closer to the natural environments that support us.

There are more than 150 creeks within the RRWA that create a rich and diverse system which provide water supply, wildlife habitat, flood capacity, recreation, and aesthetic values to all who live in and visit them.

Pollution, trash and debris damages the aesthetic and biological qualities of local waterways, impacting ongoing efforts to restore and enhance habitat for fish and wildlife. 

Over time the trash makes its way to the Pacific Ocean, where up to 80 percent of debris originates from land-based sources.
The health of our creeks and rivers depends on us.

Take a look at what Creek Week has for you:

International Coast
Cleanup Day, Sept. 15
• Sonoma Coast and Creek Cleanup: A full day cleanup campaign. Coastwalk will provide needed materials and equipment. Call 829-6689 or go to coastwalk.org/volunteer/cleanups for more details.
• Mendocino Coast Cleanup: 9 a.m.-noon campaign to clean up Mendocino County’s beaches, creeks and the rivers. Contact Jez Anderson at 962-0470 or find info online at the Mendocino County Land Trust site: www.mendocinolandtrust.org/?Home:coastal_cleanup_day.
 
• Gibson Creek Cleanup:  Friends of Gibson Creek will be removing trash and garbage from Orr Creek in Ukiah from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Registration is 9 a.m. at the little bridge on Orr Street for International Coastal Cleanup Day.  Thanks to RRWA’s generous donation, FOGC will be providing lunch to participants.  Contact 463-2721 for more information.

Sept. 15 – 22
The City of Santa Rosa is sponsoring events all week, from family adventures and cycling tours to naturalist field talks. Here are a few of the details: On Sunday, Sept. 16, you can bring your family to Olive Park for a fun afternoon of bug exploration and turtle talk in Santa Rosa Creek; on Monday Sept. 17, back by popular demand, come explore the huge culvert that runs under downtown Santa Rosa; on Wednesday, Sept. 19,  join fisheries biologists and learn about fish lifecycles and interactions of fish species; and on Saturday Sept. 22, take a bike tour on the “creekquinox” with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, join the Remote Control  Rock Crawlers on Santa Rosa Creek, tour the Irwin Creek Restoration Project with Laguna Foundation or join LandPaths for a Hood Mountain family creek exploration. For the full schedule of events and more information, online go to www.srcity.org/creekweek, or call 543-4246 or 543-3928.

Sept. 17-22
Safe Medicine Disposal Round-Up: Are unused and expired medications filling up your medicine cabinet? Don’t flush them down the drain or throw them in the trash. Help protect your family and the environment by taking your unwanted medication to a special medicine roundup event. There are special drop-off events every day of Creek Week located throughout the Russian River watershed. For more information and locations near you, go to www.safemedicinedisposal.org.

Sept. 22
 Russian River Watershed Cleanup: A full morning cleanup campaign along 55 miles of the Russian River from Cloverdale to Duncan’s Mill.  Get involved by participating or contributing to this enormous effort. For more information, go to www.russianrivercleanup.org or call 887-2302.

Russian River Fest: Join Russian Riverkeeper at their annual celebration of the river, featuring an outdoor dinner, live music, wine tasting and silent auction. Visit www.russianriverkeeper.org for more information.

Pull out your calendars and schedule some Creek Week activities. Our creeks and rivers need every member of the community to take care of them, and Creek Week 2012 is a good way to start.

This article was authored by Jill Scott, administrative technician for the City of Santa Rosa Utilities Department. RRWA (www.rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, fisheries restoration, and watershed enhancement.