Talking Water
Talking Water is an offering by Walking Water ...
Walking Water, born from a vision received in Payahuunadü - "the place where the water flows" on the ancestral homelands of the Paiute-Shoshone people - is a project and a prayer that centers water as teacher, guide, and sacred source.
We began as a three-year pilgrimage along the natural and human-made waterways between Mono Lake and Los Angeles, CA, partnering with local and global communities to collectively bear witness to the situation of water in our world. Following the path of water from source to end-user, we witnessed histories and current realities of destruction, violence, harm and extraction. Alongside the stories of grief, we celebrated those of beauty and resilience - possibilities for the healing and regeneration of waters, landscapes, and communities.
We continue to listen to the guidance and orientation of water, for how Walking Water might serve as one tributary within a global and intergenerational movement to restore relations with waters, lands and peoples. We move with the question: what world is possible if human beings devote themselves - personally, politically, spiritually - to that which gives life? We understand how essential it is for us to recognize and honor the leadership of Indigenous peoples and communities of color who have been protecting the waters and the lands from extraction and exploitation for hundreds of years -whose life ways, languages and cultures offer profound teachings for how to grow into right relationship.
A commitment to healing waters asks each of us to find our role in movements that struggle to dismantle oppressive systems that commodify waters, lands and peoples in pursuit of power and profit. And as we carry the dream of justice for waters and peoples alike, we strive to uplift and support those individuals and communities who are "acupuncture points" of healing and possibility, actively living towards that more beautiful and liberated world.
For more info go to: https://walking-water.org
To support the work of Walking Water go to: https://walking-water.org/donate/
Walking Water is a fiscally sponsored project of Weaving Earth
Banner photo by Teena Pugliese
Talking Water
Water Learning Series: Los Angeles - Session Four with Urbano Strategies
“We believe that authentic community engagement is really the key to creating and cultivating sustainable projects that are going to be healthier for the residents and create conditions that are more livable…’Direct to Community Engagement’ ensures that, early on, communities are part of shaping projects.” –Jesse De La Cruz, Urbano Strategies
Welcome to the year-long Water Learning Series: Los Angeles, where we will host 11 conversations with organizations, community projects, tribal organizations, activists, organizers, and leaders from L.A. and places impacted by L.A.’s water story.
This month’s conversation highlights the incredible work of Urbano Strategies with its founder Jesse De La Cruz. Urbano Strategies is a grassroots, community consulting firm that works to uplift working class communities of color to become engaged in taking action for sustainable development and environmental justice in their neighborhoods. Urbano Strategies plays an important role in the L.A. water story, working directly with neighborhoods affected by environmental racism and disenfranchisement from public processes on solutions for community and climate resiliency. Jesse holds a vision for leveraging collaborations between disadvantaged neighborhoods, non-profits, and public funding to ensure that Angelenos have a seat at the table for community development.
As a resident of L.A. from birth, Jesse grew up in South Central Los Angeles and worked in youth development and outreach early in his career, witnessing how access to parks and open spaces fostered community engagement and enhanced positive impacts in the health of neighborhoods. Urbano Strategies’s mission grew from these early moments and seeks to empower citizens to take an active role in the creation of public spaces.
Jesse shares success stories from community-powered projects that Urban Strategies collaborates with, such as networks of urban gardens in food deserts serving hundreds of L.A. residents. He talks about the work of collaborating with public agencies and the use of water saving gardening techniques for remarkable results in water conservation and food production. Jesse illuminates how initiatives with community at the center can make a difference in L.A.’s unfolding water story.
Jesse De La Cruz brings a wealth of experience in driving community growth and engagement across diverse neighborhoods. For over a decade, Jesse has been deeply involved in fostering community connections and advocating for environmental justice, drawing from his roots in South Los Angeles. Fueled by a passion for social justice inspired by his upbringing, Jesse pursued his Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Irvine, in his commitment to serve and uplift his community for years to come.
His expertise spans across strategic community engagement, demographic analysis, green space design, program development, leadership cultivation, and outreach planning. Jesse excels in crafting impactful campaigns and facilitating grassroots decision-making processes.
As a seasoned community practitioner, Jesse takes proactive steps, organizing direct actions for policy reform, securing public and private funding for underserved areas, and empowering community-driven initiatives. He’s dedicated to making a difference where it matters most.
Hosted by: Kate Bunney
Produced & Edited by: Anne Carol Mitchell
Intro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter Strauss
If you feel inspired by Talking Water please consider a donation - our work relies on the community. You can donate here. https://walking-water.org/donate/
For more info go to Walking Water website. https://walking-water.org/
