Framework Overview
Watershed stewardship is most easily understood through the cycles that define it: the natural cycles of drought and plant succession, and the development cycles that interrupt or accelerate them. This poster uses STELLA systems dynamics modeling to show how land cover changes affect water movement through a watershed.
The 5 S's of Water
Reduce flow velocity through terracing, check dams, and dense groundcover. Water that moves slow soaks in rather than running off.
Distribute water across the landscape rather than concentrating it. Swales, contour planting, and engineered overflows spread water broadly.
Allow water to infiltrate into the soil. Permeable pavements, rain gardens, bioswales, and healthy soil structure all enable infiltration.
Hold water in the landscape — in soil, wetlands, ponds, and aquifer recharge zones — for use during dry periods.
Healthy watersheds distribute water equitably — to plants, animals, aquifers, and downstream communities. Share is the social and ecological outcome of the first four.
Project Info
The 5 S's framework appears across Andrew's work — from the Food Forest design to the stream restoration CI curriculum.