Draw your watershed, professor suggests

By Andy Duncan

Ray William, an Oregon State University horticulture professor, specializes in taking discussion of ecological systems down to a community level. In recent years, William has facilitated meetings of people who live in watersheds.

"I use a four-step process to encourage people to look at the system as a whole," he says. "It's amazing how constructive this process is, compared to having people just come in and express their particular points of view.

"One benefit always seems to be simply having folks at one end of a watershed meet those from the other end and start to understand how what they do is related and can affect the system," he adds.

William suggests Oregonians experiment with the "systems approach."

"Do what I ask groups to do," he says. "Draw the watershed you live in. Find relationships among the components. Look for areas where significant impact could occur--for leverage. It's the beginning of systems thinking. Then you can move toward assessing what's happening in your watershed and talking with others about what you want to happen in the future."

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