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Thinking Like Water Film Screening


  • Methow Valley Community Center - Wellspring Room 201 Hwy 20 South Twisp, Washington 98856 United States (map)

Thinking Like Water documents the pioneering work of ecological restoration specialist Bill Zeedyk and his collaborators, who have spent decades developing and refining nature-based strategies to restore degraded watersheds across the American West. By slowing water's movement across the landscape, reestablishing natural channel function, and implementing simple yet innovative low-tech structures. Zeedyk and his allies are rehydrating drylands, restoring wetlands, and building long-term resilience against drought, wildfire, flooding, and extreme heat. Practical, transferable, and grounded in decades of field application, the techniques this film presents can be implemented directly on private and public land at any scale.


This fall, the Methow Valley hosts a six-week community screening series bringing these conversations home.

Each Friday evening, participants will gather at the Methow Community Center in Twisp for a screening of one episode of the series, followed by a structured live conversation with the host and a rotating roster of guest practitioners. Including Bill Zeedyk, Brad Lancaster, and filmmaker Renea Roberts. Each session connects the film's broader themes to the specific ecological conditions, restoration opportunities, and water challenges of the Methow watershed. The series concludes with a hands-on field workshop where participants apply what they have learned directly on the land.

Throughout the series, Wren Soperanes of Water Weaver Earthworks serves as your local water mentor and host. Offering context, facilitating discussion, and bridging film and field for landowners, practitioners, and community members at every level of experience.

Inspirational and practical, the film gifts to the viewer practices that can be taken right out of the viewing realm and into their own landscapes. Zeedyk’s rise, after retirement, to a legendary visionary in ecological restoration will provide inspiration to anyone who longs to make a difference in the world, at any age, and in any field.



Slow · Spread · Soak · Sink

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Register Here



What You’ll Learn in This Series:

  • Simple, effective land and water restoration methods you can apply locally

  • What “working with water” looks like in real-world restoration

  • How healthy watersheds help prevent flooding, drought, wildfires and extreme heat

  • Insights from the filmmaker, host, mentor and restoration leaders

  • How local watersheds connect to larger water systems

  • Practical next steps for becoming a water steward


TWO WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:

Option 1 (Recommended)

Watch each episode on your own prior to Friday, then join the live discussion.

You’ll receive a private viewing link for each episode during the week prior to the conversation, along with the Zoom link for the live discussion.

Option 2

Attend the online film screening on Zoom or in Person, followed by the live discussion.

If you’re unable to watch ahead of time, plan to join the Zoom screening at 6:00 PM PT, followed by the live discussion at 7:30 PM PT.


Schedule

Note: Film playback quality on Zoom may vary based on Wi-Fi connection and group size.

September 4 - October 3, 2026
Weekly on Fridays

  • 6:00 PM PT — Optional live group screening of the film on Zoom or in Person

  • 7:30 PM PT — Live discussion with the host and guest speakers



Special Guest Speakers

  • Renea Roberts - September 18

  • Brad Lancaster – September 25

  • Bill Zeedyk – October 2


See pictures and bios of our guest speakers further down below.



A 5-Part DocuSeries

Each episode is guided by a different host (along with Zeedyk), in a different location highlighting different tools from the toolbox. While each episode builds upon the prior, each can stand alone.


September 4 — Episode 1: “Willing to Try Things” lays the foundation of Zeedyk’s pioneering contribution of induced meandering to the field of nature-based restoration and how it began to take off.

September 11 - Episode 2: “All about a Bird: A 1000 Acts of Restoration” highlights the Endangered Gunnison Sage Grouse and how a host of partnerships and private landowners’ pull together to save this unique bird.

September 18 — Episode 3: “Fire & Flood” illustrates restoration in the age of increasing catastrophic wildfires and their post-fire impacts and how hybridizing treatments comes with the terrain.

September 25 — Episode 4: “Country Roads, City Roads” explores the biggest impact on watersheds and how practical approaches make win-win-win scenarios possible.

October 2 — Episode 5:  “Watershed Wide: Putting it All Together”  in Zeedyk’s hometown watersheds:  A river’s re-winding through a town center,  pushing the boundaries of induced meandering on a wildlife refuge, and a large family ranch implementing Bill’s techniques.

October 3 — Wrap Up: “Applying What You’ve Learned to Your Local Landscape”



Pricing

We offer a sliding scale, partial or full scholarships to ensure that everyone has access to this program.

    • Full Price – $175

    • Bring a Friend – $100/person

    • Seniors (65+) – $99

    • Partial Scholarship – $75

    • Artisans, Students – $50



    We recognize that opportunities and resources are not equally distributed across the world and people are able to contribute at different levels or in different ways.

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