Water Wisdom: Remembering Dale Morris Through His Resilience Vision

This episode honors Dale Morris, the former Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Charleston and co-founder of the Dutch Dialogues. Dale passed away unexpectedly just 4 days after this interview. With permission from his family, we have released this episode to honor the incredible work Dale achieved throughout his life as well as to showcase the passionate, charismatic, and kind person that Dale was.

A renowned advocate for resilience, Dale educates us on living with water, the lasting impact of the Dutch Dialogues, and the urgent need to show people the relevance and effectiveness of nature-based solutions. Dale dives into Charleston’s resilience strategy, exploring how the city may adapt in the future to live with water. Featuring insights into Charleston’s recent Water Plan as well as its most “misunderstood” project (the Coastal Storm Risk Management Study), Dale prompts us to remember our own love of Mother Nature and urges us to incorporate nature-based solutions into relevant spaces. Through his stories and insight, we get a glimpse of a world that respects nature, protects infrastructure, and values people, giving us hope that together we can find a way to be resilient.

Learn more:

• Rebuild by Design
• NRDC

• Waggonner & Ball Dutch Dialogues

• The Charleston Water Plan (storymap)
• Charleston Peninsula Coastal Storm Risk Management Project

Want to jump to a specific part of the episode?

• 3:04 - Dale’s path to the Dutch Embassy and the Netherlands relationship with water

• 11:05 - The Dutch Dialogues

• 34:53 - Charleston’s Water Plan

• 42:10 - Nature-based solutions in Charleston’s Resilience Strategy

• 48:20 - Economic benefits of nature-based solutions

• 51:40- Charleston Peninsula Coastal Storm Risk Management Study

• 1:03:47 - How can other cities learn from Charleston?

• 1:10:18 - Dale’s reflection on his path forward

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Conversing with Nature is hosted by Dr. Liz Fly, edited by Nicole Pehl, and produced by The Nature Conservancy. Original music provided by Matt Williams, cover art designed by Amy Nguyen, and funding provided by the Therblig Foundation. To learn more, visit www.naturebasedexchange.org or on Instagram @naturebasedexchange.