In this episode, we welcome the internationally acclaimed educator and writer, Didi Pershouse [https://didipershouse.substack.com/], as she discusses the urgent need for rehydrating California. With her expertise from the Land and Leadership initiative and the Wisdom Underground podcast, Didi shares actionable insights on restoring the hydrological cycle and soil health. Join us as we explore the interconnectedness of water, climate, and biodiversity, and discover how local actions can lead to significant environmental change.
We have much to learn about how to respect, honor and reciprocate life to water in our daily lives and in our times. While water is abundant, we have in a short amount of time created scarcity. We can change that. It starts with us, our behaviors, our thoughts & intentions, our actions. Can We Rehydrate CA is a multi-stakeholder initiative tapping into the ingenuity of human and natural communities with the goal of creating conditions in which the soil sponge regenerates, a fully functional water cycle is restored, and more people are involved in asking (and answering) questions about water. Rehydration would reduce wildfires, raise the water table, improve water (and air) quality, lengthen the green growing season, moderate air temperatures and restore biodiversity.
For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio
Our early 2025 interview with Didi: https://soundcloud.com/socal350/beyond-the-financialization-of-nature-an-ecology-of-care
Our 2022 Interview with Didi: https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/solving-the-climate-crisis-through-global-soil-health-with-didi-pershouse/
RESOURCES
"The Wisdom Underground" podcast, and Didi's articles on Substack- https://didipershouse.substack.com/
Courses, Community, and Resources: The Land & Leadership Initiative - http://www.landandleadership.org/
Free Downloadable Manual: Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function - https://www.didipershouse.com/understanding-soil-health-and-watershed-function.html
Book: The Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money, and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities - https://www.amazon.com/Ecology-Care-Agriculture-Microbial-Communities/dp/069261303X
Didi Pershouse is the founder of the Land and Leadership Initiative and the Author of two books. The first is The Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities. Her second is Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function. An internationally known writer and teacher, her focus is on the foundational role of soil structure and function--or the Soil Sponge – as the best way to provide abundant water and food for all life, while establishing resilience to flooding, drought, heatwaves, and wildfires. She also teaches how we can work with land management to regulate the climate through both the water cycle and carbon cycle, collaborating with the biological workforce of plants, animals, insects, fungi, and microbes.
You can find her writing and interviews on The Wisdom Underground on Substack [https://didipershouse.substack.com/].
Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, Indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.
Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/
Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/
Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio
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Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt
Hosted by Carry Kim
Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats
Episode 267