For the institute’s third year, 21 journalists traveled to FAU’s Jupiter campus. Nine came from Florida and the rest from California, Louisiana, Virginia, Missouri, Maryland, Illinois, New York, Canada and Washington, D.C. For six days, they listened to 30-plus speakers and visited key natural areas and research centers.

On the road, they explored a cypress dome in Everglades National Park, paddled a serpentine segment of the wild-and-scenic Loxahatchee River, waded into Lake Okeechobee, chatted with Smithsonian Institute scientists in their Indian River Lagoon labs and watched a threatened loggerhead sea turtle nesting on a moonlit Atlantic coast beach. Each institute aims to background participants on important and emerging environmental issues and build their network of potential sources. Lectures and briefings are offered by scientists, water managers, lawyers, government regulators, environmental advocate and other experts. This is interspersed with some coaching from fellow environment and science writers who offer writing and reporting pointers each year.

Among other things, the 2008 group learned about sea level rise, climate change in the courts, struggles over public water supply, political manipulations of science, invasive exotic fish and plants, windmill and ethanol energy, contaminant exposure research at the U.S. EPA, science writing, emerging issues in environmental reporting and new media.

Water and wetlands are a recurring subject in the institute, given the region’s cradling coastal waters and expansive freshwater inland wetlands. Still, the program presents diverse topics yearly to make it equally useful to journalists from different regions of the United States.

The fellowship covers room and board – lodging on campus and most meals – plus bus fares, other field trip costs and instruction. Those selected generally must pay their own way to and from FAU’s John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter (about 20 minutes north of Palm Beach International Airport), but some limited travel stipend money could be available in 2009 for those whose plane fare or mileage won’t be covered by an employer.

To apply, fill out an application and follow the submission instructions.

Questions? Contact Neil Santaniello, FAU journalism instructor and institute program director, at nsantane@fau.edu or 561-799-8047.