Talking Water

We're joined by Co-Executive Directors of Bayou City Waterkeeper, Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud and Kristen Schlemmer for a discussion on how they engage community to help shape the policies that protect the waters around them. Bayou City Waterkeeper protects the waters and people of the Houston region through bold legal action, community science, and creative, grassroots policy to further justice,...

Nina Gordon-Kirsch is a river lover who walked 240 miles from her home town in Oakland, CA up into the Sierra Nevada mountains to trace where her drinking water came from. She is now working on an educational film and classroom curriculum to bring into Bay Area schools to connect students to their water source. Nina has worked with water in many different settings, both in the US and international...

In this episode of Talking Water we are joined by Lesli Allison , CEO , and Morgan Wagoner Western Water Program Director of The Western Landowners Alliance to discuss the shifts, challenges and wins in environmental conservation in the Western U.S. as well as debunking some myths around the efforts of Landowners contributions in ecological protection and restoration.  Lesli and Morgan hold the st...

In Talking Water with renowned wildlife cinematographer Justine Evans , we reflect and dive into Justine's connection to Water. From early childhood memories of playing in the River Thames, to breaking into the nature-documentary industry as a camera woman, to traveling the world and witnessing nature's wonders. We explore her journey from being a uniquely patient and quiet observer, to...

If you look at the work happening in LA with water advocacy, especially in how it relates to climate resilience, you’ll find Accelerate Resilience L.A. (ARLA) . Join this inspiring and activating conversation with the team, sharing their hopeful and healing vision for Los Angeles in a time of climate change.   We dive into ARLA’s work for a water sufficient Los Angeles. In this conversation, we wi...

“The walks have been such a good movement. We’ve made a lot of progress. The walks have been a really good bridge for bringing people together and for us being able to share and connect and help people be more aware. It’s helped us at the tribal level for getting support behind the work and the things we’re needing to do and we do on a daily basis.” – Teri Red Owl, Executive Director, Owens Valley...

“We have seen a lot of conflict arising from one community to another because of sharing this water resource. The universe communicated to me when I saw how the soil reacts, because there’s not enough water, how plants are suffering—they’re withering. So, I took the initiative to work with the communities for finding enough clean water. How can we repair our relationship by sharing this resource?”...

“I saw when all the relationships in and along the river were healthy and in balance, the emergent property is drinkability for everyone, health for everyone, and beauty for us to admire and be immersed in.” –Li An Phoa  We welcome Li An Phoa for a powerful conversation on following the call of water as a teacher and centering water for the health of our communities and world. Phoa, the author of...

“What’s the cost of inaction, and how do we help people afford what we need to invest? How do we convey the preciousness and precariousness of water? How do we get folks to collaborate versus compete?” –Felicia Marcus, Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program “What can we control right now? We can ensure that we remain focussed on what we know is the most important thing…We all kn...

“When will we become aware? What will it take? I believe the upside of the challenges we are facing right now is that it’s forcing us to say, ‘That is not the story.’ If ‘that’ is not the story, then what is? Who am I in the story, and who are we?” –Konda Mason We are honored to have Konda Mason join us for the first Talking Water conversation of 2025. Konda Mason is a social entrepreneur, eco-spi...

“I really believe that the more people that come together, that are thinking this way, and that are working on solutions, that's what it’s going to take to get us to reimagining what our future is going to be and what LA looks like in the future–they don’t have to rely on our water, on Colorado River water, on water in Northern California. We can look at meeting our needs locally.” –Teri Red...

“As an artist, a huge pivot point for me in this work has been to understand that what I once thought of as materials, as object, as resource, are actually collaborators, are actually relations.” –Kate Morales In this conversation, we welcome three artists who are deeply immersed in their relationships with water. The weaving and flowing conversation follows how each artist, in their own ways, is...

“We need to ask: how do we honor place? How do we embody justice? How do we regenerate life? How do we grow participation? How do we foster resilience?” –Andy Lipkis Welcome to the Water Learning Series: Los Angeles. Throughout 2024, we have been hosting conversations with organizations, community projects, tribal organizations, activists, organizers, and leaders from LA and places impacted by LA’...

“In my imagination, we need to decommodify everything natural…No one should have to pay for access to clean water…These are all basic human rights. We need to imagine that we can come back to that…We need to learn what reciprocity means with the Earth.” –Zacarías Bernal, Program Assistant Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore Welcome to the Water Learning Series: Los Angeles. Throughou...

“The river is the reason why LA was able to be here in the first place. It’s the origin story of Los Angeles. It’s the mother of Los Angeles in many ways.” – Candice Dickens-Russell, President & CEO of Friends of the LA River Welcome to the Water Learning Series: Los Angeles. Throughout 2024, we have been hosting conversations with organizations, community projects, tribal organizations, activ...

“Owens Lake was the largest emitter of dust from one place in the United States…It [Owens Lake] disappeared in the mid-1920s. The water didn’t come on for the dust project until 2001. For nearly eighty years, the people up here–families, everyone, the wildlife–they were choking on dust.” –Mike Prather, environmentalist and conservationist in the Owens Valley/Payahuunadü Join us for this special ed...

“What does your water come from? If we know the answer to that, that’s the first step towards conservation…Then we start to connect with that source. We are water. It’s running through us. No one can own the water. We have it for a time..”   –David Baker, Executive Director and founder the Watershed Association The Watershed Association invites Talking Water listeners into a wholehearted conversat...

“Agencies like MWD and DWP are really working on our transparency and trying to bring in different voices into our processes… I think it’s important as we need to build trust in what we’re doing and the investments we need to make locally. I do think holding us accountable and demanding transparency is going to help us move forward.” –Liz Crosson, Sustainability, Resilience and Innovation Officer,...

“When you know the historical legacy of systemic racism that’s still baked into housing policies, insurance policies, red-lining, things of that nature, then you have to understand that the fight we’re fighting in Detroit is connected to a global fight. It’s about fighting for national change. It’s about fighting for systemic change, and it’s about fighting for a global resource that we must all h...

“Redesign LA puts people at the forefront. Those projects that are being funded are not coming from the cities…These are the needs in our community.” –Carlos Moran, Sr. Program Manager,  from the Council for Watershed Health  Welcome to Session Six of the “Water Learning Series: Los Angeles.” We’re honored to be joined by Carlos Moran, Senior Program Manager from the Council for Watershed Health w...

“What we can bring to the future of the river and urban waterways is engineering with nature…Engineering with nature is where we are trying to use more natural ways of solving the problem… working in unison with natural processes.” –Megan Whalen, Ambassador for the LA River Watershed, US Army Corps of Engineers Welcome to the year-long Water Learning Series: Los Angeles, where we will host 11 conv...

“Water is life…Not only does it give life. It is life. When we look at water as a thing, as an object, as a commodity that we can profit off of, if you control water, you control life. You control who gets to live and who does not get to live.” –Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre Talking Water welcomes Dr. Miguel De La Torre: international scholar, documentarian, novelist, academic author, activist, and ed...

“We believe that authentic community engagement is really the key to creating and cultivating sustainable projects that are going to be healthier for the residents and create conditions that are more livable…’Direct to Community Engagement’ ensures that, early on, communities are part of shaping projects.” –Jesse De La Cruz, Urbano Strategies Welcome to the year-long Water Learning Series: Los Ang...

“The wisdom of earth is miraculous, unrelenting, infinite, mysterious. We’ll never know everything about how natural ecosystems evolve…When I walk into the world with one foot in wonder, looking at grasslands, forests, and watersheds, my favorite way to do that is not as a designer. The best way to walk in nature is to remind yourself that you know nothing and then allow the wisdom of the natural...

“Water is one of the biggest drivers in California of climate change…because our water comes from very far away. In LA, we import our water hundreds of miles–over mountains, over deserts, over farmland from the Colorado River, from the Owens Valley, from the Sacramento River. That treatment and conveyance of water over hundreds of miles is the number one non-utility energy use in the entire state...