How do you accomplish more than you thought you could? With the help of partners, of course!

I have heard it said, “It takes a village”. Whether in reference to raising children, building community, or working towards a sustainable future, I believe this saying applies. Not only are we stronger together, but everything is so much more fun with friends! At Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, we are grateful for our “village” of partners that have helped us build such an amazing community. 

Creek Cleanups

Creek cleanup volunteers

Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful works closely with the City of San Jose’s Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services Department. The BeautifySJ team has provided us with grant funding, cleanup supplies, trash collection, and site suggestions. This collaboration ensures that we have access to sites (by unlocking gates and such) so that we are able to host impactful cleanups along Coyote Creek. 

Watershed Education

Accomplishing KCCB’s mission requires more than just cleanups. To be good stewards, we needed to better understand the watershed. POST, BioBlitz Club, Santa Clara Valley Bird Authority, and Open Space Authority allowed us to add BioBlitz events to our repertoire. Sharing their knowledge of the ecosystems and biodiversity of the Coyote Creek watershed has engaged the KCCB team and our volunteers in new ways. Thank you for helping us explore and engage with our community in this thoughtful way.

Bruce & Alie Victorine with Carolyn Knight showcase their daring docent poses.

Watershed Stewardship

We have cleaned up the trash, keeping it out of the Bay. We have learned who lives in the spaces we visit. It is only natural that we also help correct past wrongs with ecosystem restoration (and creation). For that, we have partnered with San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory. Their existing work to enhance upland habitat along pond levees just so happened to be where Coyote Creek flows out to the Bay - It was meant to be! KCCB staff and volunteers have enjoyed learning about, and helping strengthen, this unique and critically important ecosystem type found on the Bay’s edge, tidal wetlands. 

Tending for tomorrow with SFBBO at the Refuge.

“Many hands make light work”

I feel as though this could start to sound like a “thank you” speech. “I would like to thank all of the Neighborhood Associations for their trust and support of our work. The trail groups, Save Our Trails, Friends of Five Wounds Trail, and Bay Area Ridge Trail, for your advocacy to ensure communities are walkable. The schools and universities that have invited us to their campuses to share our work with their students and staff.” And, this may be the most appropriate format for the long list of people and organizations; we are grateful for. I do want to conclude this list though with our volunteers! Many of you choose to come back time and time again, making you more than our volunteers. Making you our friends!

Visit our Partners page on our website to view all of our amazing partners!