Students in Prof. Lisa Sorg’s spring 2024 Environmental Journalism course have had their work published by NC Newsline! Below are summaries of and links to their stories.

Journalism minor and finalist for this year’s Bynum G. Shaw Prize in Student Journalism Hope Zhu’s (’24) produced a story titled “There are 21 food deserts in Winston-Salem, a legacy of racist redlining that persists today,” dives into the connection between the city’s racist redlining and food insecurity, as well as the work being done by nonprofit organizations to help fill the gap. To read Hope’s full story on NC Newsline, please click here.

Natasha Heisenberg (’24) and Claire O’Brien (’26), who are both Journalism minors at WFU and contributors to the WFU Old Gold & Black, investigated the relationship between socioeconomic disparities and lifespans of Winston-Salem residents. In addition to taking a hard look at the numbers, their story, titled “A confluence of food hardship, poverty and housing shortens lifespans in Winston-Salem,” gains insight into these issues and potential solutions from Healthy Forsyth, an organization on the ground to help members of the community in three of the areas most affected by health issues as a direct result from food, economic, and housing insecurity. To read Natasha and Claire’s full story, please click here.

Una Wilson (’24), Journalism minor, environmental editor of the OG&B, and recipient of a Pulitzer Center fellowship, and Shaila Prasad (’25), Journalism minor, finalist for this year’s Bynum G. Shaw Prize in Student Journalism, and deputy editor of the OG&B, explored the connection between community gardens, the nutrition gap, and third spaces in their story, “In Forsyth County, community gardens fill the nutrition gap, while serving as ‘third places.’” Their story gained insight into the importance of community gardens in providing much needed fresh food to locals and creating a structure for social connection from community garden leaders and volunteers in Forsyth County. To read Una and Shaila’s full story, please click here.

Ella Klein (’26), a student journalist and environmental editor for the OG&B, took on the challenge of investigating Winston-Salem’s hydroponic farm failure in her story, “Winston-Salem spent $2.5m on a controversial hydroponic farm to feed the hungry. It’s failed.” The hydroponic farm, which was originally developed to meet the needs of Winston-Salem’s hungry, was delayed by half a decade and has well exceeded its original budget. This resulted in a change of management and scope to H.O.P.E. (Help Our People Eat) in 2023, which may ultimately prove unsustainable for the nonprofit, as well. To read Ella’s full story and learn more about this local issue, please click here.