Interview: finding better ways to connect people, environment, and water in California

Environmental scientist Lucy Andrews finds peace in running across natural landscapes as she studies and helps manage the state's freshwater resources

After I found Lucy Andrews’ website, I felt that I had made an important discovery. Hence, this interview, part one.

Andrews is an environmental scientist and a PhD student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. She teaches at Berkeley, publishes, and gives workshops to professional water associations.

Based in Grantham Lab, she works with her colleagues on a wide variety of freshwater research and management projects—all in the context of climate change and environmental justice, including water loss prevention, dam removal, ecosystems monitoring, water auditing, and stream restoration.

To Andrews, everything is connected.

Her sense of self and place in the world, including being queer, her study of Soto Buddhism, and being an accomplished long-distance runner, help motivate her as a scientist. And she weaves all of that together in her personal blog that flows like a river between moments of turbulence and tranquility.

The interview was conducted Aug. 25, 2023, and was edited for clarity and brevity.

SoCal Water Wars

You come into the world of water management with a unique perspective. You study and practice Soto Buddhism, which you say informs your activism, science, and your commitment to nonviolence and “collective liberation.”

You also have a passion for long-distance running and the Sierras. What led you to become a water-management scientist?