In her book, The Big Swim, Carrie Saxifrage shares 12 ideas and actions that sustain her, while she works to sustain the world we live in. She circles around big questions of how species might survive the sixth extinction, or avert catastrophic climate change. She shares how swimming is something that sustains her, while she attempts to stay with the suffering of the current situation, in order to face the harsh reality, to feel the urgency with sinking into despair, in order to act, again and again. In our interview on Cortes Island, BC, Canada, she reflects on the privilege of "finding a place to dig in and start taking responsibility". In her 'Swim for the Lakes', she literally swam with and for the sacred waters of the island to raise money to sustain them for generations to come.