Controlled burns preserve prairie habitat, less than 0.1% of the state’s rare tallgrass remains.
Jena Brooker
Jena is BridgeDetroit's environmental reporter, covering everything from food and agricultural to pollution to climate change.
She was a 2022 Data Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism where she produced award-winning coverage on the automotive industry in Detroit and environmental racism. She was also a Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellow in 2022 through CASW, AHCJ, and SEJ. Before joining BridgeDetroit she covered environmental issues across the Midwest as a Reporting Fellow for the national online news platform Grist Magazine.
Jena has a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Mother Jones, Salon, Slate, Grist, Next City, Chalkbeat, Planet Detroit, and others.
Posted inEnvironment
State moves to reduce ozone pollution controls in Detroit
Community groups say it’s too soon and that the decision could have harmful effects to Detroit and the region.
Posted inTransportation
Detroit’s I-375 project to bring highly valued real estate – who gets it?
When I-375 was constructed, the freeway destroyed two thriving Black communities and displaced more than 100,000 residents. Some want the land returned to the descendants.
Posted inPolitical and Public Policy Information
Community groups rally for automatic bill credits following power outages
Proposed legislation would mandate $5 credit for every hour without power.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Traffic out, trolleys in on Belle Isle
To reduce traffic and cars on Belle Isle, state parks officials are starting trolley service this summer.
Posted inJobs & Economic Development
People’s Food Co-op rewrites economics in Detroit grocery battle
The project seeks to expand access to healthy foods for a predominantly Black and low-income community where residents also face concerns of gentrification and displacement.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Celebrating Black ‘abstraction’ in Detroit
A new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit celebrates Black abstraction and expression in a city known for its realism.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
Detroit to take applications for recreational marijuana licenses
An unlimited number of licenses can be issued to growers, processors, transportation, safety, and event organizers.
Posted inCivic and Community Information
A freeway ripped the heart out of Black life in Detroit. Now Michigan wants to tear it down.
Highway removal is the easy part. Reparations is where it gets complicated.