Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance — Wild Lands Dialogue Project

Two days ago I cohosted with Terri Martin a dialogue on preserving Utah’s wildlands, and in particular, how to engage faith communities and involve young people. We were invited by Deeda Seed, SUWA’s Development Director.

Three journalists were present to harvest some of the event…

Holly Van Woerkom, BYU Daily Universe — Holly did a great job, capturing with clarity the main purpose.

Caleb Warnock, Daily Herald — This one felt a little less clear on the overall intent — less on the importance of engaging in dialogue and listening — but did include some specifics from the faith communities small group.

Amy Stewart, Deseret News — Also a helpful write-up.

The event itself was good. As Holly noted at the end of her article, people left with hope, enthusiasm. In participants words, one word each around the circle to seal the space: Hope, community, dialogue, motivation, spirit, responsibilities, compassion, community, sharing, promise, empowerment, understanding, wilderness, possibility, optimism, different view, hope.

And, I feel that a bigger vision needs to take root — not just one time gatherings but connecting people into more connection. Or to a bigger event that could birth more. Hmmm…

And here, a few photos

And here, a harvest of flip chart notes

And here, a beautiful harvest document from SUWA…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *