#SEJ2025 — Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future

SEJ News: #SEJ2025 — Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future

By Kendal Blust

The 2025 Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe, Arizona, could not come at a more crucial time — for our country, our profession and the planet.

This year’s conference — “Heat, Water and Growth: Confronting the Past, Surviving the Future” — celebrates 35 years of SEJ’s commitment to more and better coverage of environment-related issues.

Those issues are myriad — water, energy, weather, biodiversity, justice and much more.

#SEJ2025 also comes at a time of great political change, less than 100 days after President Donald Trump took office for the second time.

We meet in a context of not only critical environmental concerns but also questions around freedoms of speech and of the press, and urgent global concerns about the safety of journalists, land defenders and activists.

 

None of us know what’s next.

Now, then, is a time

to come together.

 

Many journalists and the sources they rely on are being laid off. Others have had funding slashed or fear speaking out in the current political climate. None of us know what’s next.

Now, then, is a time to come together.

This year’s conference is a pivotal gathering for vital discussions and innovative solutions that will shape the future of our planet. Hosted at Arizona State University from April 23-26, this annual convening reflects the diversity of our global journalism community, the breadth of the challenges ahead and the paths forward for our industry.

#SEJ2025 brings together reporters, editors, producers, photographers, podcasters and authors to explore the Southwest’s compelling environmental stories in the field, expand professional networks and tap into SEJ’s wealth of knowledge, experts and resources.

 

Arizona — the epicenter of climate change

This year, we are meeting in Arizona, a state where the impacts of climate change continue to unfold in real time and the role of environmental journalism has never been more urgent. The U.S. Southwest is at the epicenter of climate change and the collision of renewable energy, water use, mining and environmental justice issues.

Far from the bleak, lifeless landscape some imagine, Arizona’s ecosystems are incredibly diverse, ranging from lowland deserts and alluvial flood plains to the famed Sky Islands we share with Mexico.

Arizona is home to the world’s largest stands of Ponderosa pine, most of the planet’s saguaro cactuses and a major stand of Joshua trees, as well as endangered endemic species, including several species of owls and chub fish, jaguars and ocelots, Mexican gray wolves and black-footed ferrets, to name a few.

 

Nearly 30% of the state is tribal land —

at the frontlines of land and water stewardship

and climate change adaptation.

 

Nearly 30% of the state is tribal land, with 22 federally recognized tribes — many of which are at the front lines of land and water stewardship and climate change adaptation. Arizona also shares a border and the vast Sonoran Desert with neighboring Mexico, creating both challenges and opportunities for species conservation and environmental management.

Wildfire, drought, agriculture, groundwater depletion and an even hotter, dryer future loom large in the Southwest. Yet as a growing number of people continue to build their lives here, both time-honored and innovative solutions will be necessary to secure their future viability.

These challenges surely resonate with our communities across the United States and around the globe.

 

Deep dives, tours from the border to the mountains north

On Wednesday, April 23, conference attendees begin to deep dive into those issues.

Three full-day workshops offer focused time with experts. The first takes a solutions-focused approach to water and agriculture; the second provides tools and tips for climate investigations; and the third workshop, which is now free of charge, will help journalists keep themselves and their sources safe with lessons on navigating the physical, digital and psychological risks involved in environmental reporting.

On Wednesday evening, #SEJ2025 kicks off with networking, discussion and cultural celebrations featuring Pee-Posh dancers and insights from Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and from Peter Schlosser, Arizona State University vice provost and director of the School of Global Futures. We’ll also hear from Greg Burton, Executive Editor of the Arizona Republic, and from winners of the Nina Mason Pulliam Award for Outstanding Environmental Reporting.

 

Participants will travel

across the state for SEJ’s

signature all-day field trips.

 

On Thursday, April 24, participants will travel across the state for SEJ’s signature all-day field trips. Reporters will hear from local experts, activists and community members on issues ranging from controversies around solar and nuclear energy to how desert agriculture manages water use.

While one tour heads to Arizona’s southern border to delve into environmental management in the borderlands, others will travel north to explore wildlife crossings, wildfire risks and controversial projects built on lands sacred to Indigenous communities.

Closer to Phoenix, other tours explore urban issues such as water shortages, extreme heat and housing discrimination. One group will see firsthand how scientists study delicate desert ecosystems.

 

Panels and plenaries, mini-tours and a party

An extravaganza of concurrent sessions on Friday and Saturday, April 25-26, starts with an opening plenary hosted by Los Angeles Times climate columnist Sammy Roth, exploring lessons from the American West and the fate of the climate crisis under the second Trump administration.

Panels on both Friday and Saturday explore the intersection of politics and climate change, as well as issues around mining, energy, artificial intelligence and urban sustainability. Some will help attendees address safety concerns, protect sources, increase newsroom representation and better reach the public. Many touch on important stories in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, tribal nations and across the globe.

At Friday’s lunch plenary, Arizona Republic’s climate reporter Joan Meiners will be in conversation with Arizona State University’s President Michael Crow, named to the Time100 Climate List, with a wide-ranging discussion covering science, conservation, climate leadership amid current political pressures, and the role of philanthropy.

And on Friday evening, attendees have the option to attend a variety of beat dinners across Tempe. Look out for more information on a Friday evening screening of the new season of PBS’s “Changing Planet,” followed by a discussion with Dr. M. Sanjayan, host of the show, and key voices in conservation.

Saturday, after dozens more concurrent panels, the closing plenary invites top Arizona lawmakers and leaders to share their perspectives on environmental policy and tackling the climate crisis in our current political context.

 

A variety of mini-tours and

workshops provide hands-on

experience and in-depth training.

 

A variety of mini-tours and workshops provide hands-on experience and in-depth training, including one on foraging for food in the desert on Friday and on Saturday an exploration of Arizona State University’s Dreamscape Learn VR storytelling, strategies for accessing environmental data and records, and a close look at the Land Back Movement, among others.

On Saturday afternoon, attendees can also visit the author program — “Stories That Shape Our World” — where award-winning authors will share insights on their latest works.

Finally, Saturday night is a chance to kick back and let loose at the closing party at the Sun Devil Ballroom and Lawn. After a week of learning about the most pressing environmental issues of our time and how best to tell those stories, the closing party is a chance to unwind and connect with fellow SEJ members and colleagues while enjoying music, lawn games, light appetizers and a cash bar.

We hope to see you in Arizona later this month. Remember to bring your hats, sunscreen and a water bottle! It’s a dry heat, and it’s only getting hotter.

[Editor’s Note: For more information about the conference, including the full agenda and registration details, visit the conference website.]

#SEJ2025 co-chair Kendal Blust is a professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona School of Journalism. She has reported in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands for more than a decade, first with Nogales International and then at Phoenix NPR affiliate KJZZ’s bureau in Sonora, Mexico. She co-chairs SEJ’s 2025 conference with award-winning local reporters Deb Krol of The Arizona Republic and Dylan Smith of the Tucson Sentinel.

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* From the weekly news magazine SEJournal Online, Vol. 10, No. 15. Content from each new issue of SEJournal Online is available to the public via the SEJournal Online main page. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. And see past issues of the SEJournal archived here.