How this group got started:
In 2016, soil microbiologist and climate scientist Walter Jehne suggested that we organize our land management, land use policy, and learning about soil, water, and weather, around an audacious goal. He suggested that the goal be in the form of a question, such as: "Can We Rehydrate California?"
Didi Pershouse picked up the thread and organized a speaking tour (from Beverly Hills to Marin County) in 2018 to dive into that very question. Hundreds of people from different organizations attended those initial events, and got inspired by the idea that it might well be possible to rehydrate California by restoring California's natural hydrological processes.
These processes depend on various kinds of biological work, such as:
Didi Pershouse picked up the thread and organized a speaking tour (from Beverly Hills to Marin County) in 2018 to dive into that very question. Hundreds of people from different organizations attended those initial events, and got inspired by the idea that it might well be possible to rehydrate California by restoring California's natural hydrological processes.
These processes depend on various kinds of biological work, such as:
- regeneration of the soil sponge matrix by fungi, bacteria, insects, herbivores, and other species
- increased plant cover to cool soils and reduce evaporation
- increased plant transpiration to cool via latent heat fluxes and reduce high pressure heat domes
- increased fog and dew harvesting through vegetation and innovative design
- beaver dam and dew pond construction, and other earthworks that help to slow and sink water
- priming of the biotic pump to move rainfall across regions
- increased production of precipitation nuclei through healthy forests
- and good old human ingenuity
Who we are: |
We are now a multi-stakeholder initiative tapping into the ingenuity of human and natural communities. Our goal is to create conditions in which the soil sponge regenerates, a fully functional water cycle is restored, and more people are involved in asking (and answering) questions about water.
See below for some of the organizations involved. If you would like to get involved, please contact us.
See below for some of the organizations involved. If you would like to get involved, please contact us.
What's next?
Well...that's up to all of you!
1. Please join our "Can we Rehydrate California?" discussion forum (a Google group) to share relevant successes, events, ideas, field days, experiments, questions, etc. and learn what others are doing.
2. Host and/or organize an event, workshop, or houseparty. You can find our event form here, with lots of ideas.
3. Add your organization to the list below by sending us an email.
4. If you want occasional news of events and updates, sign up for our newsletter.
1. Please join our "Can we Rehydrate California?" discussion forum (a Google group) to share relevant successes, events, ideas, field days, experiments, questions, etc. and learn what others are doing.
2. Host and/or organize an event, workshop, or houseparty. You can find our event form here, with lots of ideas.
3. Add your organization to the list below by sending us an email.
4. If you want occasional news of events and updates, sign up for our newsletter.
Here are a few of the many organizations involved in this initiative:
PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOUR ORGANIZATION WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVED. We will be happy to list you here as one of our partners. To get connected, please send us an email through our contact page.