Karen Coates, left, speaks to SEJ conference attendees about the environmental impacts of war along with Carolyn Beeler, center, and Susan Phillips, right.

Fields pockmarked by bombs, forests torn up by trenches and littered with landmines, cities around the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine flooded and then left with a water shortage as the reservoir dries up.

These scenes in Ukraine and Gaza are a few examples of how war leaves long lasting damage to the environment.

Journalists, climate scientists, environmental advocacy groups and researchers examined war’s environmental consequences at a recent Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia.

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Shane Godshall speaks to a group of journalists about his work doing habitat restoration on Money Island. Image: Christa Young

New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore isn’t called the road less traveled without reason.

Persistent rainfall, exacerbated by global warming, has increased the wetlands in this area of Cumberland County.

Journalists, scientists, and conservationists are uncovering data showing that remote rural communities like Money Island will be flooded soon if politicians and state officials don’t act fast.

Roughly three dozen attendees of the recent Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference in Philadelphia traveled to Money Island, the smallest and most remote rural hamlet in the county. It was the first stop on a daylong traverse of a 70-mile stretch of untouched Delaware Bayshore coastline in southeast New Jersey.

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By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories coming out of a recent meeting of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Philadelphia.

“Place both feet on the ground and take a moment to breathe,” said Malaika Hart Gilpin, executive director of One Art Community Center. “Give ourselves a moment to feel a connection with Mama Earth.”

Chairs and floor slightly vibrate in response. After a short meditation, the reporters attending a recent Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia open their eyes. They are ready to listen about how to cover food systems.

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Ruffian Tittman of Friends of Wissahickon explains that the journalists touring Wissahickon Valley Park have arrived on opening day of trout season. Image: Shealyn Paulis

Nestled in the heart of an urban and busy city, Wissahickon Valley Park of Philadelphia provides a place for city dwellers to enjoy the sanctuary of nature.

A popular spot for outdoor enthusiasts, historians and even wedding-goers, the park houses over 50 miles of trails and encompasses over 2,000 protected acres along a stretch of the Wissahickon Creek as it passes through northwest Philadelphia.

Some Society of Environmental Journalists members had the opportunity to explore the greenery during their recent annual conference. Continue reading →