Living Environmental Journalism: Integrating Hands On Ecological Restoration, Food Justice, and Narrative Documentation Across Baltimore and Delaware

• Kaleigh Barry, English, University of Delaware

• McKay Jenkins, English, University of Delaware

Environmental degradation and climate stressors (such as urban heat island effects and food insecurity) disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities. This project involves an ongoing summer initiative led by English professor McKay Jenkins that unites physical ecological restoration with narrative journalism across Baltimore, Maryland, and Delaware. By partnering with local leaders (like the Lenape and Nanticoke Indian Tribes at the Three Sisters NRFF Garden and urban farm networks such as the Rock Rose Food Justice project), the project directly addresses environmental justice through community centered action.

The primary research question examines how active, hands on participation in community restoration (such as urban tree canopy expansion, invasive species removal, and food sovereignty agriculture) shapes and informs narrative environmental journalism. Utilizing qualitative participant observation, immersive field logging, and community stakeholder conversations/interviews, this study analyzes both physical restoration workflows (including raised bed construction, local produce harvest/delivery, and native plantings) and the qualitative impact of participatory storytelling on public environmental literacy.

Preliminary observations reveal that direct and continued physical engagement builds crucial trust with local partners, revealing micro-level social and ecological dynamics (from neighborhood microclimates to local land use barriers) that traditional, detached reporting often misses. Integrating physical labor with community narratives demonstrates that effective environmental reporting requires an immersive, participatory framework grounded in the lived experiences of local stewards. While initial qualitative data are being presented at this symposium, project involvement will continue post symposium to conduct remaining partner interviews, maintain long term relationships with project participants and leaders, and finalize the overarching journalistic study.