The changing climate is easy to see...from winters that require no shoveling, to record flooding in the spring, to record low-water levels at the Great Salt Lake. Utah teens recognize it, know it impacts their future, but feel helpless to affect change.

A 2022 National Institute of Health peer-reviewed article about the effects of witnessing climate change on youths summarizes, “Often this knowledge can come with negative emotions like worry, guilt and hopelessness in a condition called eco-anxiety.”

But instead of “sitting in the stress” as one teen put it, a group of youths have banded together in grassroots coterie called the Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake, to fight for the lake and to transform their anxiety into action.

They say the experience has changed their mindsets, given them confidence that they can make a difference, created hope for their futures, and influenced their career plans. Plus, it’s been fun!

Carolee Lewis – waterwise agricultural entrepreneur

Recent high school graduate and Murray resident Carolee Lewis works designing websites, but her passion is agriculture and gardening. One of the things she loves most about where she lives is that her neighbors have built a little shack for sharing. It started with vegetables from Lewis’s backyard garden and now neighbors come together to share household goods, local event notices and books. 

Also, right within her own backyard she’s been experimenting with growing different grasses and native plants, looking for waterwise solutions to share with her neighbors and community. “I think it’s daunting to tell people to replace their lawns, but not tell them how to do it or what to plant, so I’m trying to figure out what works.”

She developed this mindset of understanding and collaboration by attending one of her first activities with the Youth Coalition for GSL. 

“One of the most impactful things I’ve done [with the youth coalition] is when we went to the Bear River Canal Company and talked to a farmer,” Lewis said. “Because agriculture takes a big piece of water that goes to the lake, people think agriculture is bad. But after we talked to him, I saw that hating farmers and forcing them to do things won’t work. We need to advocate for the farmers to get resources to improve their systems.”

Per Lisa Mountain, one of the adult advocates for the Youth Coalition for GSL, the youth group is working to meet with diverse stakeholders (including legislators on both sides of the aisle) to more fully understand the issues surrounding the health of the Great Salt Lake. 

Visiting the Bear River Canal Company and an alfalfa farm was one of these field trips. The canal company operates one of the largest systems in the state, covering 68,000 acres and 126 miles of canals from Bear Lake to the Great Salt Lake. The group of youth saw how the company is making efforts to build a more efficient canal system. 

One improvement is to use automated gates which are controllable through a phone, to monitor water flow and allow more water to the lake when it is not needed. They are also lining canals to reduce seepage and, in some cases, piping the canals to reduce evaporation. 

These improvements are part of the agricultural optimization legislation and are funded via a 50-50 split with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, but they are still expensive. “They [farmers] are trying to make improvements, but it costs a lot, so we need to get more money through legislation to the farmers,” Lewis said.

Lewis says that going to events and talking to adults is something that has been daunting, but it’s something she’s proud of. 

“I love Utah, and I want to live here forever,” Lewis said. “We need a cultural change about the lake and how we use water in our desert ecosystem. I think by connecting with people and making the lake part of Utah’s identity, people will not let it die.”

India Elliott – environmental engineer and activist

India Elliott is a senior at Granger High and now calls herself an environmental activist. “Being worried about the environment, but also being too young to do anything is stressful, because it’s our future.” 

By joining the Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake she’s been able work with other teens to take that stress and turn it into something that gives her hope for the future.

Elliott has lived in West Valley City her whole life. She attended Rolling Meadows Elementary and through a beloved teacher, Ms. Turner, she got involved in working on school musicals (both onstage and behind the scenes) from her years in elementary all the way through high school.  

This year, she used some of her costuming experience to help craft the costumes worn for the Great Salt Lake vigil, an effort spearheaded by poet and activist Nan Seymour, where each day during the legislative session, in both the morning and the afternoon, people would gather, donning costumes and playing instruments to honor and bring attention to the lake.  

Elliott and the other members of the youth coalition gathered every Tuesday afternoon to sing and dance and march. “I feel like as long as we can come together and I can help organize and ask questions, I can make a change culturally.” 

Elliott plans to attend the University of Utah in the fall and pursue a degree in civil or environmental engineering. She will stay with the youth group for as long as she can, with the hope that she will continue to enact change. 

Braxton Kozerski – youth lobbyist 

Braxton Kozerski is attending Salt Lake Community College, majoring in outdoor parks and recreation. Before joining the Youth Coalition for the Great Salt Lake, Kozerski was worried about the lake but didn’t know how to be heard. 

“One of the most impactful things for me was lobbying,” Kozerski said. “I got to meet with my senator (Karen Kwan) and my representative (Brett Garner). We also met with Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed.”

Kozerski feels that this legislative session resulted in many bills addressing the situation with the Great Salt Lake, and even though not everything passed that they advocated for, it’s better to be talking about it than not. 

“It was very humanizing to meet with powerful political people and learn from them,” Kozerski said. “And especially to see that they were happy to meet with us and have a conversation about the things we are worried about.”

 Founding and future of Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake 

The Youth Coalition for GSL started small, as an environmental ministry at the First Unitarian Church. Founder and high school senior at Salt Lake Center for Science Education, Liam Mountain LaMalfa, and about five other students started by researching the issues affecting the Great Salt Lake, touring Antelope Island with poet Nan Seymour, and meeting with the democratic caucus and Sen. Nate Blouin, who continues to be an active adult helper and legislative advisor for the group. 

After deciding they wanted to expand the group and get involved in lobbying during the 2024 legislative session, while attending the People’s Great Salt Lake Summit in July 2023, LaMalfa invited others to join the fledgling group. And they did. The coalition now has about 17 members.

Aside from lobbying during the 2024 legislative session, in the last year the youth coalition participated in planting trees on the Shoshone Nation in the Wuda Ogwa (Bear River) Restoration Project, have been filmed by PBS Utah for the show “Insight Utah,” met with educators and stakeholders, had articles published in the Salt Lake Tribune, and been featured in several television news stories. 

Now that the legislative session is over, the coalition will be sponsoring the Saline Symposium and Celebration on April 20, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at Salt Lake Center for Science Education at 1400 W. Goodwin Ave. The celebration is free and open to everyone. 

The keynote speaker will be Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed. Seymour and several vigil keepers will provide poetry. There will be a dance performance by Shoreline Swell, music by local musicians Mel Soul and LaMalfa, and refreshments.

The Youth Coalition for GSL works in tandem with Grow the Flow and the GSL Collaborative. Plans are in the works to establish chapters dedicated to Great Salt Lake environmental activism in high schools and universities throughout Utah, creating an accessible path for all youth to gather and participate. 

“Their voices matter, their voices are powerful, and they can make a difference,” said LaMalfa, regarding the coalition. “They know this is their future and that they will have to fight for it.”

Find out more about the Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake on Instagram @youthcoalitiongsl, on Facebook at Youth Coalition GSL, or email at [email protected]. λ