Upcoming Public Events
Photo of Rock Balancing Gathering

Rock Balancing Gathering - San Francisco - 13th Edition
Saturday November 6, 2021, 11am - 2pm
Free, public, all-ages event
Crissy Field (Just East of the Warming Hut Cafe),
San Francisco, CA ( map )
In collaboration with rock balancing legend Bill Dan. Free and open to all ages. Instruction provided.
More info: event website, Facebook event page
Photo of Rock Balancing Gathering

Community Ephemeral Art-making at Codornices Park – Agapanthus Project 2021
Saturday, November 20, 2021, 12:30pm - 4:30pm
Free, public, all-ages event, wheelchair accessible
Codornices Park
Berkeley, CA ( map )
Join us for an afternoon of playful collaborative sculpture-making using dried Agapanthus flowers at Berkeley’s Codornices Park. This is the latest installment of the Agapanthus Project, begun in 2010. See the gallery.

More info: event web page, Facebook event page
Montage of photos from Earth Day at Stinson Beach, including children and adults collecting trash, balanced rock sculptures, a person handstanding next to a spiral sculpture made from seaweed, a group making sand sculpture, two men making music (drumming and flute), and a group reaching for the sky together.
Restore and Create: Earth Day Celebration on Stinson Beach (16th annual)
Saturday, April 23, 2022, 10am - 3pm
Free, public, all-ages event
South end of Stinson Beach, Marin County, CA ( map )
Help with beach cleanup or creek restoration, and join with over a dozen collaborating artists engaging the public in sculpture-making with natural materials, making music, dancing, and more.
More info: event website or Facebook event page
Current Projects & Installations
A group of 7 children and 3 adults making ephemeral sculptures with leaves, sticks, rocks and branches in a garden-based Create-with-Nature Zone
National Covid-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative
The Initiative supports schools and districts around the country in their efforts to reopen safely and equitably using outdoor spaces as strategic, cost-effective tools to increase capacity with physical distancing measures in place. The Initiative seeks to equitably improve learning, mental and physical health, and happiness for children and adults. I co-lead the Health Considerations working group of the Initiative. The National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative was co-founded in May 2020 by Green Schoolyards America, The Lawrence Hall of Science, San Mateo County Office of Education, and Ten Strands. It has now grown to include more than 15 other partner organizations that are collaborating to build a national movement, and hundreds of participating volunteers. Learn more here.
Nine sand globes, each balanced on a different rock near the shore the San Francisco Bay, with Golden Gate Bridge in background
Sand Globes Worldwide
Since discovering a technique for making near-perfect spheres from just sand and water in 2000, I've used sand globe making as an avenue to connect people with each other and with coastal areas. Free public beach-cleanup events combining sand globe making with environmental stewardship have been a great success. I've launched an effort to spread sand globe making worldwide using social media and a "how-to" video that has had thousands of views. Read more.
Logo showing golden gate bridge, tree, flower , and bird surrounding two people holding hands. Text reads
San Francisco Children & Nature
Since 2018 I've been part of the Nature Connection Design team for San Francisco Children & Nature, a cross-sector collaborative of over 30 government agencies, non-profit institutions, and community-based organizations striving to ensure that every child has opportunities to play, learn and grow in nature. One of our projects has been to prototype and develop design criteria for Nature Exploration Areas such as this one at Rolph-Nicol Park. Learn more in this report on our first three years' work.
A group of 7 children and 3 adults making ephemeral sculptures with leaves, sticks, rocks and branches in a garden-based Create-with-Nature Zone
Create-with-Nature Zone at The University of California Blake Garden, Kensington, CA ( map )
Open to the public, no admission fee, Monday through Friday, 8am - 4pm

Using materials provided from the 11-acre Blake Garden, visitors are invited to create with nature. Read more.
Two photos, side by side. On the left, a woman kneels and creates patterens with sticks along the pathway; on the right, 4 adults and a child point out creations inside the pathway border
Create-with-Nature Zone in Redwood Regional Park, Oakland, CA
Open to the public every day, 5am-10pm (click "Read more" for additional info including parking fees on some weekend days).
A designated area for creating with natural materials from the park. Read more.
On a grassy area, with the San Francisco shoreline in the background, a lattice about 5 feet high and 10 feet wide is woven with green fennel and pampas grass leaves in abstract patterns
Art Saves Trees on the Disc Golf Course at Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline, San Leandro, CA
East Bay Regional Park District Ranger Pamela Beitz and I have developed and begun installing protective scaffolding for public, ephemeral art installation and tree shielding on a Disc Golf Course under construction at Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline. Students from Earth Team are instrumental in this project.