SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns are no strangers to conversations about drought, water conservation, and the future of the Great Salt Lake. But what if part of the solution isn't found in a reservoir, pipeline, or policy change, but in the soil beneath our feet?
Introduction to Groundswell
That's the central idea behind “Groundswell,” the latest documentary from filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell. The film explores regenerative agriculture and the growing belief that healthier soil can help retain water, improve drought resilience, and restore ecosystems. During a recent interview, I spoke with the filmmakers about why they believe soil health could play a key role in addressing water challenges across the West, including here in Utah.
Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell directors of Groundswell
Below is the transcript of the interview edited for brevity.
Interview with Joshua Tickell
Patrick Beatty (KSL): Thank you for bringing so much existential dread to me here in the state of Utah, especially when it comes to water scarcity. Utah has spent years dealing with droughts and the future of the Great Salt Lake as it continues to shrink. One of the documentary's recurring themes is having healthier soil that holds more water. Did you come away believing soil health could be part of the solution for Western states that deal with water scarcity?
Joshua Tickell: Well, this is the big deal. We forget where the water is, right? Agriculture has changed where the water is on planet Earth. We've moved 80% of the water that used to be in the soil into the atmosphere. What happens when it goes into the atmosphere? It goes away, right? It turns into big storms. It doesn't give us the gentle precipitation that keeps our rivers and aquifers full.
So Utah is suffering. Utah is suffering specifically from a lack of water, an increase in droughts, and a decrease in aquifer availability. Why? Simple. One reason: soil.
“Groundswell” shows you how to fix it. So if you live in the state of Utah and you drink water, you've got to watch “Groundswell.” This is the most important film you'll ever see.
The benefits of regenerative practices
Rebecca Harrell Tickell: I mean, literally, the name answers the question. “Groundswell.” As we've been desertifying the land through decades and decades of extraction from the soil, you end up with a dry desert. That's inevitable.
But when you use regenerative practices and build that topsoil, build that soil organic matter, and restore all of that life in the soil, it acts as a sponge and stores water. When you need it, it attracts the slow, gentle rains that people all around the world, as we learned from “Groundswell,” are praying for. And you don't need to pray for it.
Lessons learned from the trilogy
Patrick Beatty (KSL): You spent three films telling this story: “Kiss the Ground,” “Common Ground,” and “Groundswell.” What was the biggest surprise that challenged your own assumptions while making the trilogy?
Rebecca Harrell Tickell: I think having made “Kiss the Ground” and “Common Ground,” I thought I knew a lot about this issue. It turns out I felt, once again, like I knew nothing. My eyes were opened.
We traveled around the world with our eight and ten-year-old kids, and the thing that surprised me most was the innovation and the pioneers everywhere, from every circumstance and every walk of life, who are finding ways to bring soil back to life.
In doing so, they're healing themselves, healing their communities, making money, stabilizing their microclimates, and learning that you feed the world by growing food. You can feed your community one community at a time, and it's happening here in the U.S.
People say, “Oh, regeneration can't be done at scale,” or, “Oh, it costs too much money to farm this way,” or, “Oh, this is the way it's always been done.”
I come from a legacy conventional farming family, so I know these stories really well. The thing that surprised me most is that people all over the world, from all walks of life, are finding ways to grow food, grow forests, and heal their microclimates.
A commitment to hopeful storytelling
Patrick Beatty (KSL): It's such a positive way to look at this because, like most environmental documentaries, by the time you're finished watching, it feels like everything is going wrong and you're left wondering what can be done. But this film feels intentionally hopeful.
Josh, was it a conscious decision from the beginning to tell this story in a more positive way?
Joshua Tickell: We sort of have this brand of hopeful storytelling. If you look across the 20 films we've done, the idea is that for every problem, there is a solution. It may not be the obvious one at first.
When you look at Utah, Salt Lake City, and the water crisis there, the obvious solution is to get more water. But where do you get the water?
The answer is that every acre of soil should be storing at least 20,000, 50,000, or even 70,000 gallons of water. Soil can store water if there's carbon in that soil.
We want to do regenerative agriculture so we can store more water in the soil, so the plants have more water, so we get more moisture in the atmosphere, so we get the snowpack and snowmelt, all those things that are important to Utah.
Again, if you want to help save Utah, watch “Groundswell.” Watch the trailer on YouTube. Share it with everybody you know, your friends and family, and let'sget this film watched.
Because every viewing of “Groundswell” on Prime Video is a vote for a future of abundance for a place like Utah and for America.
End of transcription.
Final thoughts on the film
Whether you agree with every argument presented in the film or not, “Groundswell” raises questions that are particularly relevant for Utah. As communities across the state continue to navigate drought conditions, shrinking water supplies, and concerns surrounding the Great Salt Lake, the documentary offers a hopeful perspective on how agriculture, soil health, and water conservation may be more connected than many people realize.
“Groundswell” is now available to watch on Prime Video.
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