Recreation opportunities are a big reason why people live in Utah. Our mountains and waterways are ideal places to ski, bird watch, bike and refresh oneself. But as we face drought, these activities that bring many of us joy are under threat. In this episode of Stay Salty, we talk with Lulu Avila, a snowboarder, and Frances Ngo, a wildlife biologist and birder, about the ways they bring people into relationship with Great Salt Lake through recreation.

Lulu and Frances both approach this work with a focus on diversity and justice. Lulu breaks down barriers for people of color in snow sports, while Frances hosts birding outings for the queer community. We explore the joy and challenges they both experience as they strive to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the outdoors while simultaneously confronting ecological collapse.

Find a transcript of the episode on https://www.lakefacing.org/blog.

If the Great Salt Lake dries up, toxic dust from the exposed lakebed will reach the lungs of millions of Utahns. This would be a public health disaster. People with disabilities will be disproportionately impacted by this crisis, but they also have knowledge, experience and solutions to help us navigate our uncertain future. In this episode, we talk with Flor Isabel, a mom and activist whose family has struggled with asthma from Utah's already poor air quality. We also speak with Nat Slater, an artist and disability justice organizer who shares lessons from the disability justice movement on community care and adaptation.

Episode transcripts can be found on our website: https://www.lakefacing.org/blog

Learn more:

Sins Invalid, disability justice organization: https://www.sinsinvalid.org/

Nat Slater is quoted in this story in Prism on Utah’s discrimination against disabled people: https://prismreports.org/2024/02/12/why-utah-discrimination-disabled-people-matters/

A story in SLUG Magazine about the Embodied Ecologies Project curated by Nat Slater: https://www.slugmag.com/arts/art/embodied-ecologies-where-disability-meets-the-natural-world/

Article in the Salt Lake Tribune about Flor Isabel's struggle with asthma during bad air days: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/01/23/reaching-air-there-are-solutions/

People who are incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility face the impacts of the drying Great Salt Lake firsthand. While some of us may have the choice to leave if Great Salt Lake dries up, those who are incarcerated don't have such freedoms. For this episode of Stay Salty, co-host Meisei Gonzalez talked with Tea, a person incarcerated, and Sunny, a mental health advocate who works with people at the prison. The prison is built on Great Salt Lake wetlands, and it's often forgotten and invisible to society. In this episode, you'll hear challenges and reflections of what it's like being locked between land and lake, from hoards of mosquitos to toxic dust storms.