The European Geosciences Union (EGU) has named journalists Virginia Gewin, Katherine Kornei and Martha Henriques as the winners of its 2019 Science Journalism Fellowship. The support will allow Gewin to report on peatland restoration efforts in Scotland, Kornei to follow a team in Taiwan studying the dynamic landscape of Taroko National Park and its landslides, and Henriques to travel to several European countries to explore some of the continent’s abandoned uranium mines.

“I’m so grateful for EGU support, and eager to highlight efforts to restore peatlands in Scotland and throughout Europe,” says Gewin, who will receive €2500 to support her trip. “Long derided as worthless wastelands, a majority of bogs, fens, and mires were drained and degraded last century. Now that society better understands their essential role in carbon storage and climate regulation, can they effectively be restored?”.

Kornei, who was awarded €1250, says: “I’m thrilled to receive this fellowship, which will allow me to follow scientists to Taiwan and write about the landslides that regularly strike this island. I’ll dig into how events like extreme rainfall and earthquakes are linked to landslides, and I’ll focus on how science can help minimise landslide casualties.”

Henriques, who was also awarded €1250 to finance her travels, says: “I am honoured and excited that the EGU has chosen to support this project on the legacy of Europe’s abandoned uranium mines. I look forward to telling the story of the health and environmental impacts of these mines on local people and ecosystems. The grant will allow me to spend invaluable time researching the story at mines in Portugal, the Czech Republic and the UK.”

Virginia Gewin, based in Portland, Oregon in the US, has been a freelance science journalist since 2002. She has written for dozens of publications, including The Atlantic, Scientific American, Nature, Science, Discover, and the Washington Post. She has a master’s degree in environmental science.

Katherine Kornei, also based in Portland, has been writing features and news stories on Earth and space science for Science, Scientific American, Eos and Discover since 2013. Before becoming a freelance science journalist she completed a master’s course and a PhD in astronomy in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

Martha Henriques reports on science, technology, health and environment for various UK and international platforms. She is a regular contributor to BBC Future, and her work has also appeared in publications including BBC Earth, VICE, Mosaic and TANK magazine.

The EGU Science Journalism Fellowship is an annual competition open to professional journalists wishing to report on ongoing research in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The winning proposals receive up to €5000 to cover expenses related to their projects. This support is intended to allow the fellows to follow geoscientists on location and to develop an in-depth understanding of their questions, approaches, findings and motivation.

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002 with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The EGU publishes a number of diverse scientific journals, which use an innovative open access format, and organises a number of topical meetings, and education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting over 14,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate, energy, and resources. The next EGU General Assembly is taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 7 to 12 April 2019. For more information and press registration, please check https://www.egu.eu/gamedia, or follow the EGU on Twitter and Facebook.

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• More information about the EGU Science Journalism Fellowship, including past winners