Laura Congress guards the creek as a 'streamkeeper' Laura Congress guards the creek as a 'streamkeeper' (August 18, 2004)

By Jessica Scott
Special to the Almanac

How many people walk or ride by a Bay Area creek and wonder, "Who keeps this creek so clean?"

Well, meet Laura Congress, a soon-to-be senior at Menlo-Atherton High School and one of those mysterious creek protectors.

More specifically, Laura is a "streamkeeper" -- someone in charge of monitoring a portion of a stream or creek.

For about two years, the Menlo Park resident has been monitoring a portion of the San Francisquito Creek -- from Middlefield Road to Pope Street -- having begun after hearing about the streamkeeper program while attending a creek cleanup.

At each monthly visit, she checks for possible hazards, such as polluted water, and cleans up any debris.

She has a "pretty environmentally friendly family," says Laura, with an older sister in the environmental club at school. All three sisters attended Peninsula School in Menlo Oaks, known for its emphasis on all-around development, not just academics.

Laura is involved in a high school environmental group, and plans to continue as a streamkeeper through her senior year.

She is very interested in biology and wants it, and environmentalism, to be significant in her future, she says.

The next time you walk by a creek and want to (discreetly) toss your empty Pepsi can to a watery death, think twice and remember that Laura Congress and her fellow streamkeepers will have more work to do tomorrow.

INFORMATION

For more information about streamkeepers and environmental issues, Laura Congress suggests you check the Palo Alto-based environmental group, Acterra (www.acterra.org).

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