Water as Mentor

Water as Mentor calls us to examine our relationship with the Russian River.

Human activity has historically adversely affected the Russian River watershed. The current human interface is a cumbersome entanglement of policy, agency management, and restoration projects

The ladder outlines a developmental process of awareness and engagement to transform relationships between people and place.

THE PIVOT POINT

The Transition from Fragmented Roleplay and Replay

To Ecological Placemaking and Peacemaking

The Pivot Point is where we take time to shape our collective vision, the moment we stop trying to “fix” the river and start listening.

Fragmented Roleplay

Below the Pivot

Rungs 1, 2, and 3

We act as protectors and managers, sometimes engaging in "cosmetic greening" to soothe our collective landscape.

Ecological Peacemaking

Above the Pivot

Rungs 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8

The river becomes the teacher. We learn to help the river reclaim its place, allowing it to cool the valley, heal the soils, support life, and restore the ancestral-inspired relationship between people and the flow.

The Ladder of River Relationship