Lightning Updates

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...

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 listing...

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...

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...

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, Virginia; from...

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...

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 -- Agriberry)...

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...

The economic benefits of conserving 30 percent of the planet are substantial. But, we might have known that already. So we ask ourselves, what steps are we taking to advance a stronger movement toward policies, practices and financing to conserve nature? (Photos:...

The Center for American Progress recently released "The Race for Nature," the third report in a continuing series on strategies for achieving a "30 x 30" conservation goal. We continue to explore implications for conservation from both the coronavirus and the movement...