In July 2022, Rivers for Change grantee Nina Gordon-Kirsch walked more than 240 miles, tracing the Mokelumne River from her house on Huichin land (Oakland) to the source of her drinking water on Washoe Land (Highland Lakes) in the Sierra Nevada. Along the way she learned just how disconnected we are from the water in our lives.

Nina and Rivers for Change have partnered on the next phase of this project, bringing the Home2Headwaters educational film and water curriculum into high schools in the East Bay. And we need your help to make it happen!

We are raising money to create the educational curriculum that will be brought into East Bay public high schools and teach hundreds of students where their water comes from.

Curriculum + Pilot Program: $7,000 needed:

Create the curriculum: including educational packets with maps, watershed materials, and reflection questions for teachers to use in their classrooms
Work with Indigenous partner groups to refine the curriculum and ensure their knowledge and perspective is taught to the next generation
Pilot curriculum with three Oakland high schools to test the program and receive feedback from both students and teachers

We use water everyday, but often we have no idea which rivers and reservoirs bring it to our taps. How are we supposed to protect our waters and solve rising climate change issues when we are physically and educationally separated from these drops of water? Our vision is to connect and inspire the next generation to become ecologically minded leaders, engaged citizens, and future change makers.

Will you join our vision and become a water protector for future generations?

This project will help:

People understand where their water comes from and inspire them to be part of a solution
Weave connections between urban residents, farmers in the Sacramento Delta region, plants and animals of the up-river ecology areas, and more
Bring awareness and respect to the life-giving source that is the Mokelumne River
Create a sense of belonging for humans within the larger water cycle, increasing our ability to cope with and solve changing water resource issues due to climate change

Thank you for your support and for being a part of our community to create a more just and sustainable world.

As fellow water protectors, we are so grateful to be walking and paddling alongside you on this journey.

For our Rivers,

Danielle, Nina, and the RFC Board

Nina with Flaggy

Photo credit: Te Martin

Home2Headwaters Pilot Program!

Support water education in three Oakland high schools

Team Members