About the project
Great Lakes Today was a collaborative public radio initiative created to highlight the environmental, economic, and community issues shaping the Great Lakes region. The project brought together reporting teams from WBFO (Buffalo, NY), ideastream (Cleveland, OH), and WXXI (Rochester, NY), producing in-depth stories that explored the people and ecosystems connected to the lakes. As part of WXXI’s contribution to the project, I reported on climate impacts, invasive species, watershed health, and lakefront communities navigating extreme conditions. My work combined field reporting, interviews, and narrative storytelling to help listeners understand how ecological shifts affect daily life in New York and beyond.
Stories I worked on
“Amid climate change, tiny bug causes big problems”
A field report from Ithaca, NY exploring how the hemlock woolly adelgid (a tiny invasive insect) is killing hemlock trees across the region. I spoke with city foresters and researchers about climate change’s role in accelerating the adelgid’s spread, the ecological risk of losing hemlocks in fragile gorge systems, and the scientists racing to protect forests using biological controls. Listen here.
“Not a scientist? You can still help collect valuable data”
A story about citizen science and how everyday people are helping gather environmental data across New York. Reporting from the Cumming Nature Center and Oatka Creek, I followed volunteers collecting stream bugs for the DEC’s WAVE program and learned how community members contribute to scientific monitoring, environmental awareness, and stronger stewardship of local ecosystems. Listen here.
“Along Lake Ontario, high water and damage persist”
A report from the south shore of Lake Ontario during a season of severe flooding and erosion. I spoke with longtime residents about disappearing beaches, damaged homes, ongoing repair costs, and the tension between climate-driven weather patterns and public disagreement over lake level management policies. The story highlights how rising waters continue to reshape life along the lake’s edge. Listen here.
Services
Radio reporting & environmental storytelling: field reporting, interviews, scripting, audio editing, feature writing, and community-focused environmental coverage.
Results
- Produced in-depth, on-the-ground environmental stories for a multi-station public radio collaboration
- Helped listeners understand climate impacts and ecological issues affecting Great Lakes communities
- Elevated expert voices, local residents, and scientific perspectives through accessible storytelling
- Contributed to regional coverage that connected environmental change with lived experience