Weigh in on a New Public Health Goal

Weigh in on a New Public Health Goal

by | Sep 8, 2020 | Lightning Update

Access to the water, parks, green space, healthy foods, and more are all related to land conservation. And all among the many components of public health. (Photos (clockwise from top left): MDDNR; Google Maps; Doherty) The connections between land conservation and...
Want to Buy a Flooding Risk?

Want to Buy a Flooding Risk?

by | Sep 1, 2020 | Lightning Update

Realtor.com is now displaying two different indicators for flooding risk for all properties. Last week Realtor.com began displaying flood hazard information for each of the 110 million homes currently listed on its site. It is the only major on-line real estate...
Redline Heat

Redline Heat

by | Aug 25, 2020 | Lightning Update

Groundwork RVA, a community-based non-profit in Richmond, Virginia, is working to build climate safe neighborhoods in communities where the ramifications of historic redlining are still ubiquitous. (Image: Groundwork RVA) It’s summer. It’s hot. But it’s more than just...
Farms Under Threat

Farms Under Threat

by | Aug 18, 2020 | Lightning Update

A 2020 report by the American Farmland Trust assesses farmland preservation policies by state and sets out a call to action to strengthen them. (All graphics: Farms Under Threat/AFT) Recently Lightning Update explored implications of the pandemic on farming in part 1...
Redressing Land Wrongs

Redressing Land Wrongs

by | Aug 11, 2020 | Lightning Update

In 1910, Black farmers owned about 15 million acres of farmland in the U.S. That amount has declined dramatically due to a variety of discriminatory practices, one of many “land wrongs.” (Photo: Black farmers in the Gravel Hill area of Henrico County,...
Farms Amidst the Pandemic, Part 2

Farms Amidst the Pandemic, Part 2

by | Aug 4, 2020 | Lightning Update

Farming is a big part of the landscape and a big share of Chesapeake land conservation. This week we explore the reality or potential of regional food distribution systems for supporting farmers. (Photo: CCP) Chesapeake conservationists spend a lot of resources...
Unanticipated Spectacle

Unanticipated Spectacle

by | Aug 3, 2020 | Monday Magic

Morning dawns at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, northwest of Washington DC and close by the Potomac River. The sunflowers will be aglow in minutes. (Photos: Clandestine Wren Photography) Each July and August several fields at the 2,000 acre McKee-Beshers...
Farms Amidst the Pandemic, Part 1

Farms Amidst the Pandemic, Part 1

by | Jul 28, 2020 | Lightning Update

Masked up shoppers at the Anne Arundel County Farmer’s Market in Annapolis (above), and apparently at other markets, have driven sales higher for a number of Chesapeake farmers during the pandemic. (Photos: above and first two below — Doherty; others...
Open Space for People, not Cars

Open Space for People, not Cars

by | Jul 21, 2020 | Lightning Update

Now is the time for thinking about creative solutions to public open space, including reducing the vast swaths of urban real estate dedicated to cars, not people. (Illustration: Practice for Architecture and Urbanism via New York Times) Back in May, still in the...