Keepers of the Waters | Model Projects

Our Model Projects

Eco Art Treasure Coast
Eco Art Treasure Coast is a pilot project started by Betsy Damon in 2009 for the South Florida Environmental Art Project in coordination with Martin County Arts to develop projects and collaborations with the Florida Oceanographic Society, Audubon Society and various departments of water management of the county and city.

reSources: Saving Living Systems
This Model for Sustainable Development is a large format, dynamic book (with a 30–60-minute DVD) consisting of original research that will document 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.

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.

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.

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.

Living Water Garden Environmental Education Center; Chengdu, China
Finally, a full environmental education program in the Living Water Garden! It will be the hub for environmental education in the greater Chengdu area in collaboration with Chengdu Urban River Association.

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 da Vinci Water Garden, completed in 2003, was a community based collaboration between Urban Water Works and da Vinci 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.

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.

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.