There has never been a more urgent time to document how climate change is affecting our communities and our planet – and what we can do to adapt.
Around the world, young people have been at the forefront of climate action, highlighting the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions and demanding more from politicians and corporations.
It was with these two notions in mind that the Nordic-Canadian Fellowship in Environmental Journalism was born: a chance for emerging journalists under 25 from the two regions to report on some of the biggest threats and opportunities related to the climate crisis.
This anthology features the work of the thirteen Nordic-Canadian fellows. They collectively represent seven countries and come from a range of professional and personal backgrounds, but all share a passion for the environment and evidence-based storytelling.
In the past year and a half, the fellows have learned journalism fundamentals – from feature writing to podcasting to video storytelling – and engaged with some of the most important questions at the feet of journalists and policymakers today, such as: How can we report with, rather than on Indigenous communities? How can we continue to collaborate on Arctic issues while Russia wages war on Ukraine? And: How can we tell climate stories in new and exciting ways that keep audiences engaged?
With support from Nordic Bridges, the fellows have been able to travel through-out Canada and the Nordic region – from Attu, Greenland, to Old Crow, Yukon, and many places in between – to tell stories about the perils of fast fashion, about Iceland’s efforts to replant its lost forests, about one Sami community’s resistance to a mining proposal on their land, and more.
The work you will read in this book is the culmination of nearly two years of work on behalf of the fellows. It is a true testament to the power of cross-cultural collaboration, demonstrating the magic that comes from bringing together like-minded people from countries oceans apart to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues.
It is the voices of young people leading the charge and this group is no exception. I hope their work inspires you like it has me.
I will end my note with a quote from Kim Holmén, a senior advisor at the Norwegian Polar Institute:
“We must question everything we do all the time and look for ways of decreasing our collective footprint on the planet. We are eight billion people, and we all have a responsibility for keeping it livable for all of us.”
Lex Harvey
Project Coordinator,
Nordic-Canadian Fellowship
in Environmental Journalism