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.
