Reflections from the Watershed: A Look Back at the Three Creeks Confluence Workshop
Authored By: Ronnie Pessetto
Last week, Seven Canyons Trust and the community gathered at the Three Creeks Confluence for a Watershed Stories workshop, and it’s been on my mind ever since. These workshops were spaces to pause, reflect, and reconnect. In a time when water can feel like an abstract issue, it was powerful to bring it back to the personal.
Watershed Stories is a public art project rooted in community memory and place. At its heart is a sound installation that will bring the voices of people and streams back into the Seven Canyons Refuge in Liberty Park. That dry fountain will soon be filled with the sounds of our valley’s waterways and with the stories of those who live beside them.
At Three Creeks Confluence, the air was cool and the water steady. Through guided artistic activities, we moved through the landscape with our senses wide open. Some folks shared childhood memories of playing in ditches and creeks, others reflected on drought, floods, and the shifting presence of the Great Salt Lake. A few stayed quiet, taking it all in.
What made it so meaningful was the way water became a mirror. People spoke about identity, loss, resilience. We weren’t just talking about creeks—we were talking about family, change, and the future we want to shape. It was intimate, and it was collective.
At the end of each workshop, participants were invited to record their reflections, memories, and stories. These recordings will soon become part of the Watershed Stories sound installation, layered with the voices of many across the city. They’ll bring the memory of water back into a space that was designed to hold it.
The workshops are now complete, but the project lives on. We are so excited for the unveiling of the sound installation at the Seven Canyons Refuge fountain in Liberty Park later this year.
Watershed Stories is part of the Wake the Great Salt Lake project, made possible by support from the Salt Lake Arts Council, Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Big thank you to Stefan Lesueur and his team for leading the project. To everyone who showed up, shared, listened, or simply walked the paths with us—thank you. You’re part of this story now!
