First Place
"Fisheries Beat Reporting" by Moira Donovan for Hakai Magazine
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| Screenshot of first-place story, Beat Reporting, Small |
Story links:
- "For Atlantic Canada, Fishing Season Brings Yet More Violence" (May 15, 2023)
- "The Legal Fishery Sparking Arrests and Violence" (Oct. 17, 2023)
- "All the Fish We Cannot See" (Nov. 21, 2023)
- "Dammed But Not Doomed" (March 5, 2024)
- "In Cod's Shadow, Redfish Rise" (April 4, 2024)
Judges' comments: "This is what covering the waterfront really looks like — from the scientific exploration of the twilight of the mesopelagic zone, to the long-term legal issues among people at the surface that are worsening fisheries and dividing communities, to the heartbreaking rollercoaster of the fate of redfish. Moira Donovan's authoritative and compassionate writing about complex fishery issues shows readers far from the East Coast of Canada why these stories affect people across the globe. Donovan's submission highlights what the judges admired in the best entries in a strong category: powerful, detailed, balanced and nuanced reporting, and exceptional writing that transported readers to compelling scenes. We love the simple honesty of this lede: 'This was supposed to be a good-news story.'"
Second Place
"Covering Alabama’s Environmental Beat" by Lee Hedgepeth and Paul Horn for Inside Climate News
Team roles:
- Lee Hedgepeth (reporter)
- Paul Horn (graphics editor)
Story links:
- "First Floods, Now Fires: How Neglect and Fraud Hobbled an Alabama Town" (Sept. 29, 2023)
- "Public Funding Gave This Alabama Woman Shelter From the Storm. Then Her Neighbor Fenced Her Out" (Dec. 1, 2023)
- "Alabamians Want Public Officials To Mitigate Landslide Risk As Climate Change Makes Extreme Precipitation More Frequent" (March 11, 2024)
- "Alabama Mine Cited for 107 Federal Safety Violations Since Home Explosion Led to Grandfather’s Death, Grandson’s Injuries. Where Are State Officials?" (April 13, 2024)
Judges' comments: "Public records and court documents illuminate memorable conflicts in this reporting about how government, public utilities, infrastructure and racism come together to fail Alabama's people and their environment. But it's the details in Lee Hedgepeth's stories that linger: a fenced-off storm shelter behind a no-trespassing sign, a hand-drawn map of a mine that exploded, rainwater reddened by dirt flooding a laundry room. Hedgepeth's care for the overlooked corners of Alabama shines through. Judges were particularly impressed by the breadth of this coverage, which revealed truly shocking threats, from racism by infrastructure to the dangers of mining to surrounding areas."
Third Place
"Extreme Heat in Texas" by Erin Douglas, Alex Ford, Eddie Gaspar, Alejandra Martinez and Yuriko Schumacher for The Texas Tribune
Team roles:
- Erin Douglas, Climate Reporter, The Texas Tribute
- Alex Ford, Designer/Developer, The Texas Tribune: Data visualization
- Eddie Gaspar, Photo Editor, The Texas Tribune: Photography
- Alejandra Martinez, Environmental Reporter, The Texas Tribune
- Yuriko Schumacher, Data visualization, Designer/Developer, The Texas Tribune: Data visualization
Story links:
- "Climate Change Has Sent Temperatures Soaring in Texas" (June 27, 2023)
- "Emergency Room Visits Surge, Texans Die Amid Dangerous Heat Wave" (June 30, 2023)
- "This Summer Is on Track To Be Among Texas' Most Extreme" (July 18, 2023)
- "Texas Just Recorded Its Second Hottest Summer on Record" (Sept. 7, 2023)
- "'I Don't Wish This on Anyone': Two Families Mourn Their Losses After a Record Year for Texas Heat Deaths" (Jan. 12, 2024)
Judges' comments: "Erin Douglas smartly used public record requests to uncover the facts about a story that Texas public agencies wouldn’t tell themselves, about the unprecedented impacts of heat. Still more record requests helped her find Don Green, one of the hundreds of people whose deaths were counted publicly in this work. Just as heat builds, Douglas and her fellow Tribune data journalists worked overtime to build the undeniable case that Texas summer is changing, and it merits public attention. Judges praised Douglas for her diligent and compelling reporting. She managed to open new ground on an issue that has drawn much coverage, but seldom with this kind of power and journalistic success."
First Honorable Mention
"Wildfire Beat Reporting" by Emily Benson, Peter Bohler, Ollie Hancock, Emily Harwitz, Jane Hu, Julia Kane, Kylie Mohr, Jill Pelto, David Schultz and McKenna Stayner for High Country News
Team roles:
- Kylie Mohr: Reporter
- Story #1: Editor Jane Hu
- Story #2: Photographer Peter Bohler, Fact checker David Schultz, Editors Emily Benson and McKenna Stayner
- Story #3: Fact checker Julia Kane, Editor Emily Benson
- Story #4: Fact checker Ollie Hancock, Editor Jane Hu
- Story #5: Illustrator Jill Pelto, Fact checker Emily Harwitz, Editor Emily Benson
Story links:
- "Fire Retardant Kills Fish. Is It Worth the Risk?" (May 10, 2023)
- "'We Have Fire All Around Us and We Can't Get Out'" (Aug. 1, 2023)
- "The Dangerous Consequences of Wildland Fire Dispatcher Burnout" (Oct. 2, 2023)
- "When Burn Scars Become Roaring Earthen Rivers" (Nov. 1, 2023)
- "Fire Is Driving Animals' Evolution" (Feb. 1, 2024)
Judges' comments: "At a time when more reporters live in more places risking fire, Kylie Mohr's reporting rises above, offering uniquely framed stories exploring how fire coexists with wildlife and people. This work informed both by public records and soot-covered fieldwork touches on science, recreation, fire management policy and personal narrative. One story sets the reader down with experienced hikers caught among flames, then breathlessly and lucidly describes their peril. Mohr gives us specialist insights into how wildfire works as a phenomenon. Then she goes far beyond by talking to communities anticipating fire and recovering from it. Or, as she puts it, covering 'the humans who light it, fight it and devote their lives to it, and their wellbeing.' The result, the judges found, are stories that capture both the necessity of fire and its often tragic impacts. That are at once engaging and comprehensive.'"
Second Honorable Mention
"Nature As Solution to Our Climate and Biodiversity Woes" by Gabriel Popkin and Evan Barrientos for Audubon Magazine, Anthropocene Magazine, Science Magazine and Yale E360
Team roles:
- Gabriel Popkin: Reporter
- Evan Barrientos: Photographer (Audubon story)
Story links:
- "The Biden Administration Bets Big on 'Climate Smart' Agriculture," Yale E360 (July 13, 2023)
- "Shaky Ground," Science (July 27, 2023)
- "Meet the Fire Starters Restoring One of North America’s Greatest Forests," Audubon Magazine, with photography by Evan Barrientos (Fall 2023)
- "Resetting Carbon Offsets From the Bottom Up," Anthropocene Magazine (Fall 2023)
Judges' comments: "Gabriel Popkin's work is excellent in so many ways: his gifted writing and solid reporting relies on great sources to tell stories with a historical perspective centered on the land. This strong entry included reporting on the controversial question of how much carbon soils can store, and whether carbon markets work. His exploration of soil-based carbon credits is rooted in science clearly understood and explained. Popkin's story about 'good fire' in the Southeastern U.S. is a love letter to longleaf pine, which he describes as 'starting life as a pompom of needles,' and to the forest ecosystem: 'Fire makes pines and pines make fire — and pines make woodpeckers… Woodpeckers can nest in other old pines, but they prefer longleaf — and its disappearance created an avian housing crisis.'"
Third Honorable Mention
"Essential, Exploited, at Risk" by Peter Aldhous and Liza Gross for Inside Climate News
Team roles:
- Liza Gross, reporter: Lead reporter and writer
- Peter Aldhous, data, science and investigative reporter: Data analysis for "Dying in the Fields As Temperatures Soar"
Story links:
- "A Catastrophic Flood on California’s Central Coast Has Plunged Already Marginalized Indigenous Farmworkers Into Crisis" (July 23, 2023)
- "Dying in the Fields as Temperatures Soar" (Dec. 31, 2023)
- "Converging Climate Risks Interact To Cause More Harm, Hitting Disadvantaged Californians Hardest" (Feb. 2, 2024)
- "California Pesticide Regulators' Lax Oversight Violates Civil Rights Laws, Coalition Charges" (Feb. 20, 2024)
- "California’s Latino Communities Most at Risk From Exposure to Brain-Damaging Weed Killer" (March 27, 2024)
Judges' comments: "Beat reporting by Liza Gross about 'essential, exploited, at risk' farm laborers combines deep compassion for marginalized communities with cutting edge science journalism. She has invested deeply in relationship and trust building with local nonprofits, community organizations and academics who work with Indigenous farmworkers, all of which ultimately paved the way for crucial direct connections with the largely undocumented workers who till California's crops. Gross explicitly addresses the issues of race, class and justice fueling environmental conflicts that all too often are left simmering silently below the surface. Her focus includes the emergent and compounded effects of multiple forms of risk to farmworkers, including heat and air pollution. In a state well-traveled by reporters, these stories stand out."
The Society of Environmental Journalists' annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment honor the best environmental journalism in 10 categories, bringing recognition to the stories that are among the most important on the planet. Prizes are $500 for first-place winners and $250 for second-place winners in all categories. Plus, the Nina Mason Pulliam Award for the "best of the best" environmental reporting will award $10,000 to one entry selected from the first-place winners of SEJ's Awards for Reporting on the Environment. Sponsored by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, this prestigious award will be announced live on January 28 — please save the date and stay tuned for details.
SEJ's 2024 Esteemed Judges and Screeners
SEJ's 2024 Awards Committee
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