Take action. Learn through experience. Build together. Get dirty.
In-person Workshops
A movement based in action
Learn to trust your intuition
Our goal is to hold space for people to practice creating positive interventions on the land. Water Stories Workshops offer a deep dive into the practical aspects of reshaping landscapes to benefit local ecology.
Experience the transition from design to implementation
Assess soil composition and learn how it continually influences the installation process
Work as a team and practice communicating effectively on a job site
Gain practical experience
Every workshop is a unique opportunity
Our objective with each workshop is to offer participants a diverse range of hands-on, educational experiences. Installing substantial earthworks projects, like ponds, requires a significant amount of time. However, thanks to the generosity of our workshop hosts, we are able to provide a wide array of workshop styles, durations, and locations. Each workshop presents distinctive opportunities for learning, tackling challenges, and forging connections.
A low consequence place to learn
Connect with the Water Stories Community and meet other students
Hands-on experience with various tools and possibly heavy equipment
Practice interpreting client goals and incorporating them into a functional land design
Testimonials
We have worked with hundreds of amazing people
Oja Robinson"The entire weekend was a stellar experience that far exceeded all expectations! Thank you so much for your hard work to make it all happen so beautifully"
Diana Lightman“Everything went so well, thank you very much”
California, USA 2023
The Waterman of India in California
Following the 2023 UN Water Conference, Dr. Rajendra Singh joined us in California to share his decades of experience reviving rivers and healing watersheds. The day long workshops were held at the beautiful Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) and a private residence in Healdsburg, CA.
On Friday, we screened the award winning film “Reviving Rivers” followed by a discussion on how to revitalize and heal landscapes through community-driven decentralized water retention with Dr. Rajendra Singh.
On Saturday, we learned how the land and our minds can be reshaped to facilitate healing and abundance with Dr. Rajendra Singh. We discovered practical solutions and techniques that have been successfully implemented across India to help promote positive ecological and social change.
On Sunday, we spent the day reading the land, interpreting observations, building models, and installing water retention and erosion mitigation interventions with Zach Weiss.
Tuscany, Italy 2022
Restoring the Tuscan Watershed
A four day workshop was held at Tenuta di Paganico in Tuscany, Italy. Our goal was to uncover a path forward for the regeneration of fire prone landscapes and restore water security to Tuscany and beyond. This workshop was made possible by the Tuscan Environmental Foundation. Content was organized by Zach Weiss from Elemental Ecosystems (USA) and Lorenzo Costa, from Azienda Agricola La Scoscesa, Tuscany (Italy).
Introduced the principles of watershed restoration and how to design the management of water
Developed a strategic plan for the restoration of the Tuscan hydrographic basin, a regional level
Increased participants' understanding of the water cycle by creating confidence in the adoption of truly sustainable actions
Preview
The Core Course
Want to get a better feel for the course? Watch the introduction videos to the course to get a better feel for the content and format, what to expect, and what we expect of you.