“I live in Saratoga Springs and am the director of public outreach for Conserve Utah Valley. This grassroots organization is made up of scientists, ecologists and residents who want to protect the valley’s natural resources. We played a key role in securing state monument status for Bridal Veil Falls and defeating the effort to build islands in Utah Lake.

A few years ago, I started visiting Utah Lake every day. It made me realize the narrative around the lake was false or stuck in the 1980s. As a writer and a nature photographer, that was really fascinating to me. I wanted to know what was happening and how to fix it so we didn’t have things like huge proposals to build islands in the lake making it to the legislature.

I started looking for graduate programs and was so excited to learn about the University of Utah Environmental Humanities program. At 20 years old, it’s the first in the country and their reputation is unparalleled. This graduate program is the best thing I’ve ever done.

Through the interdisciplinary nature of the program, I’ve been exposed to incredible historians and communication scholars. My work focuses on understanding how those disciplines speak to each other.

Before I began this program, I had a partnership with the Utah Valley University Museum of Art to do a Utah Lake-focused art show. As far as we can tell, this exhibit is the first of its kind. It took two years to organize the show, and during that time I started my master’s degree. Participating in the Environmental Humanities program played a key role in the quality of exhibit I was able to execute. It ran from last May to September and featured more than 50 regional artists and included nine community events. Nearly 7,000 people viewed the exhibit and provided great feedback on how it had started to change their view of the lake.

The Environmental Humanities program has not only helped me expand my network, but it has also helped me legitimize my effort. When you’re working on a graduate degree, there’s a level of commitment that people respect. It’s made it easier to gather people and bring them together.

When I look at the larger story of water in Utah, I see how important the role of communication is in restoration. Communication helps people connect to bodies of water like Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake and the Jordan River. When we use our bodies of water as community gathering places, we’re able to repair our mistakes. Not just in terms of things like water management, but also in the stories we tell and the way we relate to the water.”

— Teri Harman, second-year Environmental Humanities master’s student, Saratoga Springs, Utah