Knight Center news briefs

EJ sweeps awards
Seven EJ Magazine contributors were honored by the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards on March 15 for works published in 2006. EJ swept two of the three student categories. In the category of “feature writing,” Carol Navarro, Ryan Shannon and Kristin V. Johnson won first, second and third place, respectively. In the “reporting” category, Katie Coleman, Jessica A. Knoblauch and Hannah Northey took home the top three prizes. And in the “expression of opinion” category, Rich Grogan won first place.

EJ also won three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence competition. In addition to winning third place in the Best Student Magazine category, Yu-Ting Lin, Mairin MacDonald and Carol Navarro placed in the Magazine Non-Fiction Article category.

These awards marked the fourth year in a row EJ and its student writers and editors have been honored by state and national organizations.
—Katie Coleman

EJ on TV
A pilot episode of EJ-TV will air on WKAR-TV on May 27, the 100th birthday of the late Rachel Carson. The documentary was shot by several MSU students and features “Dying to Be Heard,” a story inspired by Jim Detjen’s Fall 2005 editorial. It examines the life and work of MSU ornithologist Dr. George J. Wallace, whose groundbreaking research on the pesticide DDT was cited in Carson’s epic work, “Silent Spring.”
Students are also working on a second episode, which will include two segments based on articles published originally in EJ: “Melt Down,” based on Fall 2005’s “Messages from the Arctic” and a yet-to-be-named segment based on Fall 2006’s “Rain Drain.” —Lou D’Aria

Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute returns to Michigan
Up to 25 Great Lakes-area journalists are participating in a summer institute offered by MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism in 2007. This year’s program is at an environmental research center operated by the University of Michigan. Fellowship winners will live, eat and work with scientists, faculty and students at the U-M’s Biological Station near Pellston. The issues they will study include endangered and invasive species, water quality, climate change, bio-fuels, forests, water use, wind power and agriculture. They will study computer-assisted reporting, collect and analyze plankton and algae and learn how the interaction between trees and the atmosphere is measured far above the forest canopy. This is the Knight Center’s ninth Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute, but the first one held at the U-M facility. It runs from June 26 to June 30. Since 1996, more than 200 U.S. and Canadian journalists have attended the institute, which is supported by the George Gund Foundation, the Knight Center and the MSU School of Journalism.
—David Poulson

Knight Center endowment update
The Knight Center offers its sincere appreciation to the individuals who have contributed to the endowment fund:

• Nicole Babb
• Jyl Barnett
• James Blanchard, Jr.
• Elizabeth Burch
• Lauren Burdick
• Scott Campbell & Cassie Walker
• Danielle Casavant & Rod Lambert
• Michael & Sandra Clark
• Lou D’Aria & DeAnne Hamilton
• Jim & Connie Detjen
• Charles & Betty Downs
• Megan C. Frounfelter
• Yu-Ting Lin
• Jeffrey & Patricia Mallett
• Fred Martino
• Bud & Barb Miller
• Sylvia Robertson
• Anne & Rolfe Neill
• Thomas & Nancy Springer
• William & Patricia Swan
• Elaine Wolff

To learn more about the endowment challenge from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and to offer your support, please visit ej.msu.edu/endowment.php.
—Danielle Casavant

High school journalists learn science reporting
More than 200 students from 14 Detroit-area high schools filled classrooms for “Cell phones, Hurricanes & Mascara: Journalism and the Environment,” a one-day conference hosted in part by the Knight Center. In the midst of interactive gizmos, contraptions and experiments in The New Detroit Science Center, students gained industry insight from local reporting favorites like Charles Pugh of FOX2 Detroit and Andrew Humphrey of Local 4. Students also picked environmental topics to learn more in-depth, such as environmentally friendly ways to dispose of cell phones, long-term health effects of mascara use and effects of global warming on the Great Lakes. After the conference, students competed for scholarships provided by MSU’s Michigan Interscholastic Press Association by writing articles on the day’s events.
—Andrew Price

Knight Center speaker series
The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism brought award-winning journalists to MSU as part of its annual Spring Lecture Series. This semester’s speakers included prominent online journalist Daniel Grossman, Muskegon Chronicle environmental reporter Jeff Alexander and Washington Post health and science reporter Marc Kaufman. Students met the speakers at an informal dinner in the Knight Center after each presentation. The lecturers also visited with environmental reporting classes.
—Kristin V. Johnson

Knight Center video projects
Students enrolled in “Client-Based Media Design” are producing two videos for the Knight Center, one for prospective students and another for potential donors. Amol Pavangadkar, the class instructor and a teaching specialist with the Knight Center, tries to expose the students to the work pressures of a professional media production house. The students are expected to hold client meetings, submit media proposals and produce a professional media product for the client.
—Amol Pavangadkar

EJA update
MSU’s Environmental Journalism Association, the only student group in the nation devoted to environmental journalism, is finishing up another semester. Events this spring included meeting with Dan Grossman, Jeff Alexander and Marc Kaufman, three award-winning environmental journalists. Plans for next year include a GPS training session, an outdoor science treasure hunt, medical research facility tour and nature photography contest. To get involved, contact president Matt Hund at hundmatt@msu.edu.
—Matthew Hund

Residents in Benton Harbor, Mich., fight for their park

by sarah kozicki

Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor is one of the oldest parks in Michigan, yet it is facing what supporters call “the worst threat of its 89-year history.”

Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment, Inc. has proposed a beach and golf resort community on the park, along the lakeshore in both Benton Harbor and St. Joseph — “The last and largest piece of prime real estate that’s so very close to Chicago,” according to David Whitwam, chairman of the development company. The master plan includes a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, indoor water park, resort hotel and more than 1,000 new single-family homes.

Jean Klock Park was donated to Benton Harbor in 1917 by John and Carrie Klock, who dedicated the park in memory of their daughter, Jean, who died in infancy. In the deed, they designated the park for public use and demanded that it remain in the public trust forever. Nevertheless, the park has lost 17 acres, first to a cloverleaf interchange for M-63 in the 1950s, then to a residential development in 2003.

The park includes open dunes, Great Lakes marsh and interdunal wetland — three natural communities considered rare in Michigan. According to state-certified botanist Leon Schaddelee, “Much better examples of all three exist along our West Michigan coastline, but nowhere that I know of do all three exist in such close proximity.”

In addition to these unique communities, Jean Klock Park is home to several rare plant species, including the state-threatened Sabatia angularis, commonly known as the rose pink. Though many parts of the park have been significantly degraded over the years, Schaddelee and other park advocates feel the park still represents a valuable natural resource.

Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment has staked out parts of Jean Klock Park for construction of the golf course. According to Friends of Jean Klock Park, a non-profit group, “The proposal would impact the park’s low-lying marsh, and coastal wetland areas and would travel behind and along the ridge of the park’s unique and fragile dune structure.”

In addition, operation of a golf course could affect the area’s water quality. “Golf courses typically have many herbicides and fertilizers applied to them,” said Sheila Sobaski, professor of molecular biology at Albion College. “Should runoff of these chemicals occur, it can have negative impacts on the local watershed.”

Opponents of the development said Harbor Shores insists on using the site despite the potential environmental consequences because of its rich beachfront property. Luanne Kozma, director of Michigan’s Defense of Place, said developers don’t need to use the park for the golf course: “They are holding the park hostage to an entire development. Those in favor of the development say the golf course will bring in jobs, but those jobs should not come at the expense of the city’s only park on Lake Michigan.”

Even in Michigan’s economically dismal climate, Benton Harbor stands out — 42.6 percent of residents and 39.6 percent of families are below the poverty line. Park advocates say the city considers the prospect of jobs and tourism strong incentives. This idea is supported by the nearby Whirlpool Foundation. According to Whitwam, who is also the former CEO of Whirlpool, “We’re acting as a catalyst for Harbor Shores. The heart of our plans is to create jobs and invest in the diversity of our local communities.”

According to Carol Drake, member of Friends of Jean Klock Park, this presents the citizens of Benton Harbor with an unfair dichotomy: “They’re being forced to choose between the environment and jobs when they could have both,” she said.

In what development opponents consider a striking environmental justice issue, the golf course and surrounding housing developments would isolate the park from the inner city, limiting access to the predominantly poor, African-American residents of Benton Harbor. “It’s going to be like putting a wall up between the park and the residents,” Drake said. “The development will add an entire new element, culturally speaking, and there is going to be a clash. The children of Benton Harbor will not feel comfortable using the expansion of the park.”

While development proponents insist that the golf course will be open to the public, park advocates counter that a golf course represents a restricted public use because it would be owned privately, not publicly as a park should be. “The people of Benton Harbor will not be able to afford to play golf,” Drake said.

If the proposed plan goes through, the new entrance to the park, which would feature the Harbor Shores Beach and Golf Lodge, would be in St. Joseph, taking ownership away from Benton Harbor. In addition, the traditional uses of the park, which include baptisms, church suppers, weddings, picnics and an annual blues festival, would be eliminated.

According to Larry Streeter, a 25-year resident of Benton Harbor, all hope for Jean Klock Park is not lost. Streeter thinks the park should be used as an outdoor classroom. His ideas include building wheelchair-accessible gardens and a natural history museum, and he hopes to use these ideas to create a counter initiative to deter the development of the golf course. Schaddelee agrees: “The site’s potential for environmental interpretation of our Great Lakes coastal heritage is excellent. It would be put to much better use as a nature center than a golf course.”

Depending on one’s point of view, Jean Klock Park might represent a precious natural asset or a prime piece of real estate — maybe even an outdoor community center. But as Streeter put it: “Money’s not going to do it. We need the park.

Letter to the Editor:
Environmental education essential

Amazing! I found the Fall 2006 issue of EJ in the staff trashcan at our high school, and I wish I’d known about the magazine since 2000, when I began teaching special ed. environmental science.

Now, per the Michigan Department of Education, that class will become obsolete for students seeking a diploma! All students will be required to take the following science courses to earn a diploma vs. a certificate of completion: Earth/life, physical, chemistry and physics!

Not only is this unrealistic for the level of cognitively impaired students I teach, but, in today’s bio-tech world, it’s like burying our heads in the sand. Environmental science is a parallel study in life! It teaches respect, values, decision-making, problem-solving, parameters for debate. We’ve found it incredibly applicable! It’s clear to students with limited and high mentality alike.

I am advocating for environmental science classes to continue as an elective or for students who are unable to earn a diploma. However, with decreased funds and mandated increased benchmarks, my plea isn’t receiving any consideration.

If I continue to be assigned science classes, I plan to incorporate as much environmental education as possible. I may only be able to use EJ as a supplemental weekly activity, but I will get it in!

Judy McCall
Special education instructor

Names in the News

Michael Carney, M.A. ’07, and his fiancé Megan will marry on May 25, 2008. Michael will attend the University of Missouri-Columbia law school this fall.

Katie Coleman, M.A. ’07 and EJ editor, was named outstanding graduate student in the School of Journalism and awarded the Len Barnes scholarship. She also won first place in the student reporting category of the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Jim Detjen, Knight Center Director, spoke to 25 Mexican journalists at a workshop on environmental journalism in Hermosillo, Mexico, in March. He also lectured about his experiences as a Fulbright Scholar in China at a MSU symposium in March.

Megan Frounfelter, M.A. ‘05, is working as a reporter at the Huron Daily Tribune, where she covers local government and environmental issues. She and her fiancé, Brian Decker, will marry on Oct. 20, 2007.

Rich Grogan, a Ph.D. student in the media and information studies program, won a first place award in the student expression of opinion category of the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Madison Hall, M.A. ’07, won the Mangner Neil Journalism Scholarship for Overseas Study and a $1,000 award from MSU’s Office of Study Abroad to support her trip to Antarctica during MSU’s 2006 winter break.

Ike Iyioke, M.A. ‘99, is working as a communications manager in MSU’s university relations office, where he writes about education, children and youth, criminal justice, politics and international issues.

Kristin V. Johnson, M.A. ’07 and EJ design editor, was the co-winner of the 2007 Cameron Meyers Award. She was also the co-winner of the Rachel Carson Award for outstanding environmental journalism graduate student. She placed third in the student feature writing category of the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards. She is also interning at MSU’s International Studies and Programs.

Jessica A. Knoblauch, M.A. ’08, was the co-winner of the Rachel Carson Award for outstanding environmental journalism graduate student. She also placed second in the student reporting category of the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Zhenyu Li, M.A. ’08, was awarded a graduate student fellowship in February 2007.

Carol Navarro, B.A. ’07, was the co-winner of the outstanding senior award in the School of Journalism. She also won first place for student feature writing in the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Amy Nevala, M.A. ’97, and her husband, Eric Stoermer, welcomed into their family Samuel David Stoermer, born Dec. 25, 2006. Amy is an editor at Oceanus magazine, a publication of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Hannah Northey, M.A. ’07, was the co-winner of the Applegate Award and won third place for student reporting in the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Karly Pence, B.A. ’07, won the Edward J. Meeman Award for the outstanding undergraduate environmental journalism student.

Ben Phillips, B.A. ’08, was co-winner of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism’s service award.

David Poulson, Knight Center Associate Director, was among three leaders invited to discuss citizen journalism at the annual We Media conference, where he demonstrated the Great Lakes Wiki. He also appeared on a panel about environmental reporting at the annual meeting of the Michigan Press Association.

Andrew Price, M.A. ’08, co-won the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism’s service award.

Robert sams, M.A. ‘03, and Laura Sams, B.A. ’03, showed their movie, “Lost in the Woods,” at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. on March 24. The Sams are co-owners of Sisbro Studios.

Ryan Shannon, B.A. ’07, won second place in the Detroit Press Club Foundation’s 2007 Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Melissa Sutton, B.S. ’05, works for the Ingham Conservation District as an education/public awareness coordinator. She does outreach on ways to reduce the spread of invasive species and also works on groundwater and watershed stewardship.

Ashley Waldorf, B.A. ’08, will spend fall 2007 at the Galapagos Academic Institute in Ecuador.

Aileo Weinmann, M.A. ’05 and former EJ editor, and his wife Heather are expecting their first child on June 7, 2007. Aileo works for the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C.

Geri Zeldes, assistant professor in MSU’s School of Journalism, received a university grant to create a documentary exploring the relationship between journalists and the Arab-American community in Metropolitan Detroit after Sept. 11, 2001. The documentary is expected to air in 2008 on public broadcast television stations throughout Michigan.