Environmental Journalism

Books, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Justice / 08.01.2021

As we enter into the new year, we welcome the opportunity for personal growth and development. Certainly, there is no better path toward self-improvement than through the pages of a good book. In the hopes of leading a national dialog in particular on the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion in outdoor recreation, environmental conservation and social justice we are proud to announce the creation of an online book club called The Joy Trip Reading Project. It goes without saying that 2020 was a tumultuous year. The global Covid-19...

Capitol Christmas Tree, Choose Outdoors, Environmental Journalism, Joy To America, National Forests, Public Land, U.S. Forest Service / 06.11.2020

On November 5, 2020 members of the United States Forest Service successfully harvested the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre Gunnison National Forests of Colorado. Despite the tumult of the global COVID-19 Pandemic and a contentious presidential election these dedicated men and women in partnership with corporate sponsors, small private businesses, local government agencies and nonprofit organizations coordinated the complicated task of extracting an 55-foot tall 82- year-old Engleman Spruce Tree for safe transport by truck to Washington D.C. Taken from the GMUG, the ancestral...

Diversity, Environmental Journalism, National Geographic, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, ReThinkOutside / 19.08.2020

WHEN I BEGAN exploring the outdoors, I had no idea that Black people had played a vital role in the creation of Yosemite, one of my favorite national parks. I had never heard the story of the park’s connection with Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers, and when I finally did, at age 42, it came to me as a complete surprise. In the 10 years since, I’ve learned the stories of Stephen Bishop and Mammoth Caves, Lancelot Jones and Biscayne Bay, and many other people of color who have influenced national...

American Rivers, Environmental Journalism, National Forests / 16.05.2019

Even the best laid plan can go horribly awry. On this particular occasion a day-hike to the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River was unceremoniously canceled due to a torrential rainstorm that was further exacerbated by a tornado warning. But undeterred by the inclemate weather on an otherwise lovely Sunday morning in late April our small group gathered nonetheless to drown our sorrows at a Midtown Atlanta establishment called Tacos & Tequilas. As they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going...to brunch.
America's Forests, Capitol Christmas Tree, Choose Outdoors, Commentary, Environmental Journalism, PBS, U.S. Forest Service, Yoga / 15.10.2018

The call sheet posted a meeting time of 9:00 AM. After 10 days on the road I was already run pretty ragged. With only four hours of sleep the night before after a long day, the alarm on my iPhone toned at 7AM with the words of “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence (circa 2003). As I lay there staring up at the ceiling I thought about all that the next 12 hours had in store. Inwardly I cringed as I imagined what lay ahead. I have 12...

Environmental Journalism, Nelson Institute, Outdoor Recreation, Outdoors For All / 27.06.2018

In the summer of 2018 my course called Outdoors For All met three days a week for three hours each day for four weeks. At first I thought I’d have difficulty filling the time, but with subject matter spanning more than 150 years of racial oppression I had compiled enough historical references and case studies to fill the pages of my next book. Each day of class constituted a chapter on a specific element of the long narrative of discrimination from the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 through the...