Gulf Coast Media - Environmental Reporting Lab

Baldwin County is changing fast. New rooftops, new roads and new development are reshaping the place we call home. With that growth comes added pressure on the water, wetlands and wild spaces that make the Gulf Coast worth protecting.

In conversations with readers like you, one need comes up again and again: coverage that keeps pace with growth and holds it accountable. Reporting that explains what's happening to our waterways, our coastline and our natural resources before it's too late to act.

We listened. Gulf Coast Media brought on Gabriella Chavez, a full-time environment and growth reporter placed with us through the national Report for America program, which supports her salary in part, on a declining scale. Since she joined our newsroom in 2025, Gabriella has brought our community:

• Reporting on Mobile Baykeeper's listening sessions as Baldwin County growth pressures local waterways
• Coverage of community efforts to protect their rural land from solar farm developments connected to out-of-town data centers
• A months-long reporting venture examining local researchers' first-of-its-kind technology development that is expanding transcontinental tracking of hummingbirds
• Coverage of long-running concerns over coal ash contamination near Alabama Power's Plant Barry
• The story of a decade of oyster restoration work along our coast
• "Rain Check," a deep look at how Baldwin County's growth collides with water

This is the kind of reporting that doesn't happen without dedicated, sustained support.

We're in the middle of a campaign to raise $10,000 to keep Gabriella's beat fully funded for another year. This will bring new reporting on environmental legislation, watershed protection and coastal resilience, because these are the stories our community has told us matter most.

If you make a gift today, it will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $2,200 by a group of generous community members. A $25 gift becomes $50. A $100 gift becomes $200. There’s never been a better time or a better reason to support Gulf Coast Media.

Will you join us?

Thank you for being part of the community that makes Gulf Coast Media's journalism possible.