Article 1 – Living in Right Relationship with Water

Insights, inspiration, and tools to grow resilient, regenerative communities

By Larry Greene

Curator of Actionable Information | Navigating Our Future

Water Is Life

Water is the source of all life. It is sacred, essential, and irreplaceable. From the cells in our bodies to the clouds above us, every part of Earth’s living system depends on water. Civilizations have risen beside rivers and fallen during droughts. Our bodies are more water than anything else. It flows through us and connects us to the entire web of life.

From Scarcity Thinking to Reverence and Reciprocity

In many places, we treat water as a commodity—bottled, sold, wasted, polluted. This mindset of control and extraction has led to poisoned rivers, disappearing aquifers, and rising conflicts. But what if we approached water with reverence instead of fear? What if we remembered it as a gift, a relative, a shared inheritance that requires care and gratitude?

Many Indigenous cultures teach that water has spirit, agency, and rights. They understand what science is rediscovering—that water is a living system, shaped by cycles, relationships, and memory. A regenerative future depends on our ability to repair this relationship and restore water’s rightful place in our lives, landscapes, and governance.

We Are All Downstream

Every drop of water that falls on our land eventually joins a stream, river, or ocean. What we do to the land, we do to the water. What we put in the water, we put in ourselves. From fertilizers to pharmaceuticals, from road runoff to sewage, our daily decisions ripple out into the watershed.

Understanding this is the first step to change. A watershed is not just a technical term—it is a living community of relationships. By thinking like a watershed, we move from fragmented actions to holistic care. We see that upstream restoration helps downstream health. That forest protection is water protection. That healthy wetlands prevent floods, recharge aquifers, and support biodiversity.

Resilient Watersheds in a Changing Climate

Climate change is intensifying the water cycle. More droughts, stronger storms, snowmelt arriving earlier, rising seas—all of this is already impacting communities around the world. Those who are most vulnerable are hit hardest.

But communities that invest in water resilience will be better prepared. That means restoring ecosystems, reducing dependency on centralized infrastructure, protecting source water, recharging groundwater, and harvesting rain. It means integrating Indigenous knowledge, modern science, and local action. It means reimagining cities, farms, and forests as part of a living watershed.

What Communities Can Do

For example, in communities large and small around the world, these principles can be adapted to fit the unique ecological, cultural, and social realities of each place. While our primary focus is on the Olympic Peninsula and the Salish Sea Ecoregion, the tools and strategies we describe can serve as a foundation for action in any bioregion.

Communities across the Salish Sea are:

• Restoring streams to support salmon and orca recovery

• Replacing culverts to reconnect watersheds

• Removing dams and letting rivers run free

• Building rain gardens and bioswales to manage stormwater

• Installing water catchment and reuse systems at homes and schools

• Collaborating with Tribes on long-term stewardship of rivers and aquifers

All of these efforts help communities become more self-sufficient, ecologically aligned, and climate resilient.

Where This Journey Leads

This article is the starting point in a larger journey. Upcoming pieces will explore key domains of community resilience and regeneration—including food systems, housing, democratic empowerment, and cultural transformation.

The next article is Living Within Our Ecological Means: Learning from Nature’s Design.

We Want to Hear from You

What does “living in right relationship with water” mean to you and your community? What efforts are already underway? What challenges or breakthroughs are emerging where you live? We’re building this network together—your insights, your questions, and your stories matter.

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Call to Action

Visit the companion Wisdom Hub for this article to access:

• Local case studies and watershed maps

• Interviews with water keepers and restoration leaders

• Guides to rainwater harvesting, policy reform, and water equity

• Opportunities to connect, learn, and contribute

  
  

We can heal our relationship with water—starting now, in our own watersheds. Let’s move from fear to care. From scarcity to regeneration. From extraction to reverence.

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To respond or learn more, write to: info@navigatingourfuture.org