Speak for the Creeks

The “Speak for the Creeks” city pilot project, led by poet and local educator Sojourner Kincaid Rolle, helps to instill a sense of place within a watershed. We believe that when young people visit their local creek and observe dragonflies, tadpoles, crawdads, and raccoon prints, they begin to learn the importance of restoring waterways and bring this value home to their families.

The program involves a visit to the neighborhood creek to learn, observe, sketch, and take photos. The creek walk is followed by an in-class creek collage project using materials from Art From Scrap and a creek poetry writing session. The initial after-school project involves students in the City’s Recreation Afterschool Program (RAP).

Students are joined by guest naturalist and city watershed educator, Elise Stephens. Creek visits are documented by students themselves and by teenage youth as part of the Youth CineMedia “Clean Water Media Lab” project.

To celebrate Creek Week 2007 and showcase student collages and poems, a multi-media exhibit was created at the Central Library. Receptions with poetry readings were hosted for the RAP students and as part of Santa Barbara’s Lights On Afterschool celebration.

Another Creek Week activity involved youth in the Housing Authority’s Splash2Trash program and a clean-up of Lighthouse Creek.

View slideshows of student collage and photography by clicking on the links below:

Cesar Chavez Speaks for Sycamore Creek

Roosevelt Speaks for Mission Creek

Harding Speaks for Old Mission Creek

Monroe Speaks for Mesa Creek

Please contact Jill Sarick Santos at (805) 897-2606

© Copyright 2003, City of Santa Barbara. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Send messages and inquiries to Liz Smith