The Uproot Project’s Environmental Justice Fellowship offers funding to seven journalists to pursue reporting projects over the course of a year. Fellows will receive up to $2,000 to cover travel and other reporting expenses and will also receive support from Uproot to place their stories with a media outlet if requested. Fellows’ projects should focus on stories related to environmental justice — highlighting how the climate crisis and key environmental issues of our time are inextricably linked with other forms of inequity.
Eligibility
The fellowship is open to all journalists of color who are members of The Uproot Project. (If you’re a journalist of color who hasn’t joined Uproot yet, you can apply for membership here. It’s free to join!)
Applicants must be working journalists; those working in public relations, lobbying, or communications are not eligible for this fellowship. Freelance journalists are welcome and encouraged to apply. A demonstrated history of covering the environment will strengthen your application.
Project Guidelines
Reporting projects should take an in-depth look at an environmental justice issue. We’re particularly interested in funding stories that are undercovered in the news media or poorly understood by the general public.
The fellowship is open to stories in any medium — writing, audio, video, photography or some combination. Your reporting can take you anywhere, whether there’s a story you want to tell in your own backyard or across the world. Fellows will also be asked to provide a brief progress report at six months and a short summary of their experience at the end of their reporting process for Uproot to share.
Budget Guidelines
The funding for this fellowship should directly support fellows’ reporting. Such costs may include:
- Travel expenses
- Translation fees
- Records access
- Data analysis
- Data visualization
The majority of the funds must be used for reporting expenses, and funds should be spent within one year of fellowship selection. Fellows should not spend a large share of their budget on new equipment. Funds cannot be used as reimbursement for reporting that has already been completed. The jury may allow other types of reimbursement in special cases.
Apply
Deadline: 11:59pm ET on March 1, 2024