Author Archives: Dave Poulson

Photographer helps others eye how people shape the Earth

Eyes on EarthBy Natasha Blakely

Dennis Dimick

Dennis Dimick


Dennis Dimick has worked as a journalist and photographer and with students and schools.
But those achievements pale in comparison to his daughters, he said.
“All the work that I’ve been doing, magazine editing, coming to schools, trying to proselytize on these issues, I think that’s all very good and important,” Dimick said. “But I think the most important thing I’ve ever been able to do is produce two young, active, engaged future citizens of society.”
Dimick, the retired environment editor of National Geographic, recently visited Michigan State University to help produce more. He attended journalism classes as a guest, lectured, critiqued work and participated in a Q&A, all of that as part of his work with Eyes on Earth.
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Knight Center student reports on destructive insective

Kelly van Frankenhuyzen

Kelly van Frankenhuyzen


The emerald ash borer’s devastation of ash trees in forest and cities is the subject of a website produced by a Knight Center student for her masters project.
The goal of the project by Kelly van Frankenhuyzen is to understand the impact of the insect in Michigan and Ohio. The website is geared toward middle school science students with the idea of engaging future generations in citizen science and in the skills and knowledge needed to protect natural resources.
She worked with two Forest Service scientists in Delaware, Ohio, to learn how some trees survive the insect next to those that do not.
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New library guide for environmental reporting available for MSU students, faculty and staff

Eric Tans is Michigan State University's environmental sciences librarian. He holds a B.A. in English with minors in Environmental Studies and Sociology from Calvin College and a masters of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Originally from Anchorage, he enjoys outdoor activities and has a research interest in sustainable libraries.

Eric Tans is Michigan State University’s environmental sciences librarian. He holds a B.A. in English with minors in Environmental Studies and Sociology from Calvin College and a masters of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Originally from Anchorage, he enjoys outdoor activities and has a research interest in sustainable libraries.


By Eric Tans
The MSU Library supports teaching and research across campus with online research guides that simplify the search for information with links to databases, journals, books and websites.
I have created one on environmental reporting to support the School of Journalism’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
The guide divides content into subscription news sources, scholarly databases and journals, free online sources and library books. Each category appears in a separate box and provides links to helpful resources, although each serves a slightly different purpose.
The links in the subscription news sources and in the scholarly databases and journals boxes connect to fee-based news services and databases. But if you’re an MSU student or a faculty or staff member, don’t worry about the fee. The library subscribes to these services, making them available to you because of your MSU affiliation.
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Two high schools win journalism-environmental science grants from the Knight Center

The Knight Center is awarding $2,000 grants to two Michigan high schools for collaboration between journalism and environmental science classes.
The winning projects were selected in the center’s second statewide competition.
The Knight Center also has matched the schools with professional journalism mentors to work with the students and teachers for guidance and advice on the projects.
The grants go to:
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