Keepers of the Waters | Model Projects

Keepers of the Waters has been involved in many different ecocological and art water projects for many years in many different roles. Some examples of the largest projects follow headed by the role that Keepers played.

Project Director

reSources: Saving Living Systems
reSources: Saving Living Systems is a global project and its purpose is to research and honor water sites around the world that have sustained human life and deep cultural traditions for centuries. The first project under the auspices of 'reSources' is the research of Tibetan water sites. People's Water: Tibetan Water Culture, a Model for Sustainable Development will be documented with a large format, dynamic book and a 3-60 minute DVD. It will consist of original research that will record 40-60 Tibetan water sites and serve as a model for an integrated approach, where the existing Tibetan culture is used as the foundation for watershed conservation and rural economic development.

The Living Water Garden; Chengdu, China
The Living Water Garden, completed in 1998, is a large, award winning public park in the center of downtown Chengdu, China. Polluted river water moves through a natural, and artistic treatment system of ponds, filters and flowforms, making the process of cleaning water visible.

Sounds of Water Fountain; Redding, CA
Sounds of Water is a multi-functional water feature and a metaphor for the mountains and earth -- the sources of water -- at the Turtle Bay Arboretum in Redding , CA.

Wenyu River Project; Beijing, China
The The Wenyu River Planning Project, is designed to transform a large urban tract in Beijing into a model of modern environmental planning. It includes a return to some natural wetlands, bird sanctuaries, paths, sewage treatment, forested parks and other diverse uses.

Chinook Bend Natural Enhancement Project; Carnation, WA
Near Carnation, Washington, King County is implementing a Natural Enhancement Project to return 59 acres to its natural state. Betsy Damon was selected by 4Culture to create artwork in celebration of the beauty and power of the water flowing throughout the site.

Planning / Design

Olympic Forest Park; Beijing, China
This park, as part of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, will become a model for a sustainable city and as a 21st century solution for water management. It will clean the water to a level suitable for significant human contact and will become the ecological-economic model for parks of the future as well as places of recreational activity.

TongZhou Ecological Park; China
In collaboration with the Beijing Planning Bureau, Betsy has worked on projects for ecological model plans and designs for numerous places. The first was for TongZhou a town of less than a million whose water supply is already too little per capita. In the plan all the water is recycled and cleaned through a biological system which include solar aquatics and wetland indicters.

Trinity River Corridor Project; Dallas, TX
Betsy Damon, the artist /eco design team member, participated in the Trinity River Corridor Project to create innovative sustainable features for the largest green infrastructure initiative in the United States – a 9-mile urban park, floodway and transportation improvement project that will anchor the transformation of central Dallas into a quilt of mixed-use and transit-oriented neighborhoods. They received the American Society of Landscape Architects' 2009 Professional Award. Come back soon for more information and photos of this project.

Mentor / Consultant

Watershed: Art, Activism, and Community Engagement; Milwaukee, WI
Inspired by Betsy Damon's lectures, this project addresses the shifting ecological and political dimensions of water. This project, organized by Raoul Deal and Nicolas Lampert, uses art as a form of activism to comment on water issues in Milwaukee and the Great Lakes Basin, and their impact on the world at large.

Eco Art Treasure Coast; Stuart, FL
EcoArt Treasure Coast was a pilot project that evolved over a year's period in Martin County Florida. The program was the first project of EcoArt South Florida, Inc., sponsored by the Arts Council of Martin County and involves six Treasure Coast artists. Betsy Damon was the mentor artist, working closely with this group to develop projects and collaborations with numerous community groups.

Model Village Project; Chengdu, China
As a model village project, Betsy Damon is consultant and mentor for Duncan Cheung who is an intern with CURA, the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association. CURA is a Chengdu government NGO that is an evolution from the Living Water Garden.

The DaVinci Water Garden; Portland, OR
The DaVinci Water Garden, completed in 2003, was a community based collaboration between Urban Water Works and DaVinci Arts Middle School in Portland, OR. Located on an abandoned tennis court, it redirects stormwater from rooftops and a parking lot through an educational and artistic water garden. Startup funding was provided by Keepers.

Edwards Aquifer National Park; San Antonio, TX
In a month as an eco-activist artist teaching at Trinity University, 1993 Damon focused her students and the community on the Edwards Aquifer and on the San Antonio River. Although the aquifer was rapidly being encroached upon by development, few people understood the implications of losing their water source. The citizens action group that formed succeeded in protecting the thousands of acres with the creation of the Edwards Aquifer National Park in 2003. They invited Damon to return to lead a four-day charrette to design the human interaction inside the park. One of her students initiated the first San Antonio River clean up that continues as a big city sponsored annual event. Come back soon for more information and photos of this project.