Hello Everyone! My name is Sophia and this is my second week as a CLIR CCEPS Fellow! I am excited to continue to learn and grow in this new position!
The past two weeks have led me to consider how water influences our daily lives and the lives of other living things. I spent a lot of time reading about Harold S. Stewart, born in 1894, and how he spent his time. He worked on the advisory boards of citrus growing companies throughout the Upland area and most importantly on the San Antonio Water Company board. Water and its multitude of uses was a big part of his professional life.
Besides learning about his career, I learned about the things that interested him: hiking and hunting. The importance of water can often be easily overlooked, but as Stewart told the story of the San Antonio mountain range as an ever-changing place, I began to see water’s influence. He recalled the wildlife and how there were fewer deer and mountain lions as he grew older. Simultaneously, water was being used to cultivate citrus, and collected to be sold by companies across the Inland Empire. Were the changes in animal
populations reflecting some of the changes in water usage? I am not claiming correlation, but rather noting the deep interconnectedness of the world that takes shape
through water.
