In our latest Meaningful Conversations podcast episode, I had the deep pleasure of speaking with Erica Gies, award-winning journalist and author of Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge. This conversation left me both grounded and inspired — Erica brings not only science, but also soul, to the way we think about water.

At the heart of Erica’s work is the Slow Water movement — a powerful shift in how we manage water by working with it rather than trying to control or rush it. Her approach is rooted in ecology, Indigenous wisdom, and a deep understanding of the natural systems we’ve so often overlooked in our attempts to engineer the landscape.

Erica drew the Majestic card during our conversation, and it set the tone beautifully. She spoke about how water is not just physically vital, but emotionally sacred. We begin our lives in water; we are mostly water. In many cultures, water is not a commodity — it’s a relative. A friend. Something to be honoured.

Show notes: 

• Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge. 
• American Society of Civil Engineers: Endorses the use of nature-based solutions as crucial tool in combatting climate change
• Julie Beagle: The Nation’s Chief Engineers Turn to Nature to Improve Flood Protection: Scientific American 
• Ursula K. Le Guin: The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction – Link to book.  Link to article.
• More than Carbon sticks.  A story discussed in the podcast featuring Atmospheric Physicist Anastassia Makarieva and University of Washington atmospheric scientist and ecologist Abigail Swann
• Laura Norman, Physical Scientist, US Geological Survey: What if we let water flow where it wants, slowly? Article in Popular Science. 
• The meaning of Lichen 
• The science behind forest bathing 
• Edward O. Wilson’s Biophilia
• Edward O. Wilson – Half Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life 
• LuminUS Reflection Cards