In this episode of Meaningful Conversations, we sit down with Alisha McFetridge, founder of Rainstick, for an honest and timely conversation sparked by one simple prompt: Truth.

Alisha shares an analogy many of us know too well  - coming home from a great vacation and avoiding checking your bank account. In the water sector, we often do something similar: prioritising short-term costs and quarter-by-quarter wins, even when we know those choices carry long-term consequences.

We explore how today’s infrastructure still benefits from leaders who thought 100 years ahead and why returning to cathedral thinking feels both difficult and necessary right now.

This conversation touches on:

• Why real innovation takes time
• How systems change requires education
• Why policy often lags behind what’s possible
• And why bold decisions rarely happen alone

Alisha’s journey building Rainstick offers a grounded reminder that progress doesn’t come from pretending we have all the answers.  It comes from honesty, courage, and collective effort.

There is hope.
 Municipalities are asking better questions.
 Communities are coming together differently.
 And more leaders are willing to say: we need to do better together.

This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and create space for the real conversations the future of water demands.