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They came from Florida, seven other states and Puerto Rico to sharpen their knowledge of environmental sciences and issues. So it went for 17 working reporters attending FAU's first Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment, held May 15 through 20. The reporters (pictured above), a mixture of print and broadcast journalists, staff writers and freelancers, used the Jupiter campus as their home base as they visited the Everglades, the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee, the Indian River Lagoon, the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and an invasive species research laboratory in Davie.
When not on the road or in the field, they gathered on campus to hear briefings by environmental lawyers, scientists, pollution clean-up consultants, water managers, government regulators, FAU faculty and other environmental experts. At the start of the program — designed by FAU's School of Communication and Multimedia Studies and the Center for Environmental Studies — they listened to a key National Hurricane Center researcher discuss the current era of more frequent storms. At the conclusion, they heard Washington Post reporter Michael Grunwald explain how his coverage of Florida and the Everglades evolved into his book The Swamp.
Participants, who lived in the Honors College residence halls during the week, praised the agenda as highly informative. The next installment is slated for the spring of 2007, when the University will host up to 25 journalists
—Neil Santaniello, Instructor – Communications and Journalism
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