In the summer of 2018 the Freeflow community established its roots. Our mission is to connect people to wild or precious places, but also to connect people to one another: emerging writers to professional writers, creatives to conservationists, educators to students, established mentors to the next generation of leaders. The students are the heart of our community. They raise good questions and challenge us to be better as an organization. They also collect and create really good stories. And so today on the Podcast we feature the stories and voices of two of our alumni. Both of these stories are, ostensibly, about birds. Dippers, or water ouzels, specifically. And both are also about so much more. Thanks to Lauren Smith and Zoey Greenberg for contributing these beautiful essays to the Podcast.