The Big Picture
The landing page of our website posits a pointed question: “Will you join the movement to protect our health and home?” If you click the button below, you’re taken to a page where you can sign up for our newsletter and volunteer with us. So, joining the movement = getting emails and volunteering? How does that help?
It’s a fair question to ask. Let me explain what our movement is about and why your participation is vital!
Our mission
Grow the Flow’s mission is to restore Great Salt Lake to a healthy level (4198’) by 2034. Integral to our mission are three goals: reducing municipal water use by at least half, sending 800k-1M acre feet of water to Great Salt Lake annually, and securing $2-10B of funding between now and 2034. Making any sort of meaningful progress will require strong state policy and federal funding—not an easy ask! However, Grow the Flow isn’t working with just a handful of paid staff and a great social media page. We’ve built a strategy to save the lake that is dependent on your local volunteer participation.
How is volunteering organized?
Grow the Flow splits volunteers into geographic chapters. Currently, we have 5 regional chapters (Northern Utah, Weber/Davis, Salt Lake City, Greater Park City, and Utah Valley) and 5 university chapters (Utah State University, University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College, Utah Valley University, and Brigham Young University), but this number will grow.
Each chapter has identified several focus leaders in their area—these are frequently state legislators that may play a critical role in passing good policy if we can leverage strong community support. Using our understanding of the legislator’s political record, their key support groups, and the change we want them to make, our chapters create a strategy to develop a stronger relationship with these legislators and their allies. Ideally, these relationships will empower our leaders to champion our cause.
Why do relationships matter?
It’s no secret that we are persuaded more by our friends than by strangers. When we build strong relationships with legislators and their allies, they are more likely to be sympathetic to our cause, trust our opinion, and follow our recommendations.
Dr. Ben Abbott, executive director of Grow the Flow, likes to remind us that our legislative leaders really are followers. They depend on our vote and follow the priorities set by their key constituencies. This is fundamental to our strategy. If constituents make saving Great Salt Lake a priority, elected officials are more likely to do the same.
How do our chapters build strong relationships?
Every chapter’s strategy is unique, but all contain components like holding meetings with legislators, building strong support for Great Salt Lake in their voting districts, partnering with community groups that are important to each focus legislator, and having a continual presence at community and legislative events.
This is where you come in! We need volunteers who are both passionate and trained to lead a wide range of efforts, like sharing resources with your community, writing persuasive letters to legislators, organizing community gatherings and fundraisers, tracking chapter progress, and helping new volunteers join the team.
But I’m just a regular person—am I really that important?
Yes! Each person has unique experiences and skills. When you join a chapter, you’ll meet with a leader to learn about the chapter’s strategy and discuss the best ways YOU can personally contribute. Check out this page to meet with your chapter’s leader, learn about the next chapter meeting, and join the community of people working to save our home.
