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As of 10/4/18 this website has moved to FollowingDeerCreek.com where we’ll continue posting Deer Creek stories and videos, but with less advertising clutter. Please click on the link above and subscribe when you get there!

Story-based Study of the Deer Creek Watershed

Following Deer Creek is a story-based study of the Deer Creek watershed. Much of the creek traverses through private property and is hidden from view. It is a vastly unknown beauty that flows through the heart of the community.

In the winter of 2017, when water levels reached heights that hadn’t been seen in a decade, Lisa Redfern set out to photograph and film various locations along the creek’s thirty-four-mile length. This began a journey of discovery.

Watershed Overview

Plate tectonics created the Smartville Block, ancient uplifted ocean floor and hard granite, that comprises much of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. (*See Resources section below for more details.)

Approximately 7,000 Native People lived in the territory before the Gold Rush lured white men and an array of people from various cultures.

During the Victorian era with strict social rules, newcomers actualized an atmosphere where personal failure and reinvention were acceptable. Ingenuity, invention, the attitude that only ‘civilized’ people had rights to the land, and the quest to get rich resulted in long-term environmental damage that is an on-going concern in the present day.

The twentieth century saw more changes. Further development of water rights, the narrow-gauge railroad, farming, forestry, building the freeway, and several large-scale planned communities contributed to the watershed community we now recognize.

Documentary Film in the Making

The blog (and eventual documentary film) is a personal passion project of Lisa Redfern, a local author, artist, and photographer. She creates blog posts about the plants and animals she observes as well as historical reenactments, and interviews with historians, long-time residents, and representatives from agencies that connect with the waterway.

Many posts include custom created artwork for her Life on the Creek series, made-to-order home and clothing items. Five dollars from each sale (above production and shipping costs) supports the blog and film project (savings for a narrator, music, and audio/video editing assistance). Once the film is complete, Life on the Creek proceeds will be donated to stream stewardship organizations.