Climate change in my community

Student Reporting Labs is always interested in youth perspectives and local stories about climate change and the environment.

We have a rolling deadline to accept climate stories. Please use our pitch form to submit your story idea. Review these tips about how to pitch. If your pitch is accepted SRL staff may be able to support the production of your story.

If you produce a climate/environment story on your own or with your school, be sure to tag us when you publish it!

Use these three tips for the kinds of stories SRL is interested in publishing:

1. Think local: climate change is a big, global issue, but SRL is most interested in hearing specific details about what the warming world means for your town, city, or region - even if the scale seems small. What kinds of problems is your community dealing with? (ie wildfires, sea level rise, flooding, drought, etc).And how are people responding? Tell the story from where you live.
2. Include the youth perspective: Teens and young adults are some of the biggest changemakers when it comes to the climate. Tell us about how they’re taking action.
3. Share solutions: There are many, many ways people are working to address the climate crisis. Use a solutions journalism approach as you plan your story. Include the ways people are working to address climate change. Check out this guide from Covering Climate Now about how to incorporate solutions journalism into your reporting.

For inspiration, check out this student-produced story about how climate change is affecting high school athletes, or this one about two teens reimagining food waste.

This year, instead of submitting fully produced stories, SRL invites students to pitch their story ideas first. Pitches will also be accepted on a rolling basis August 1, 2024 through February 1, 2025.

PRO TIPS BEFORE BEFORE PITCHING YOUR STORY:

• RESEARCH: Spend time doing research, talk to people you’d like to interview and shape your story idea.
• WATCH: this short video about pitching
• REVIEW: this pitch example before submitting your idea.

SUBMIT YOUR PITCH:

• Submit your pitch using this form.

SUCCESSFUL PITCHES WILL:

• Show clear evidence of research
• Tell a compelling story
• List specific people you intend to interview

If your pitch is selected, you will work with an SRL Youth Media Producer to further develop your story for publication. A team member will contact you within three weeks of your submission.

• Profile (2-4 min. long): A profile is the story of one person. It has voiceover (VO), b-roll, pictures, nats (natural sound), interviews of family members or peers of that one person. Here’s an example of a profile.
• Explainer (2-4 min. long): A video explaining a concept. Often it includes a host/narrator speaking directly to the camera. The tone could be serious, funny, or informative. Here’s an example of an explainer.
• News package (3-5 min. long): Video stories about newsworthy issues and topics. A news package has factual information, balanced reporting, research, voice overs, multiple interviews soundbites, b-roll footage. It may also include things like infographics, a reporter standup, nats (natural sound from filming b-roll). Here’s an example of a news package.

NAT package (2-4 min. long): A video story guided by the natural sound from interviews and the environment where you’re filming. Natural sound, commonly known as “NAT sound,” puts the viewer in the place the story was told by enhancing the scene(s) with video containing rich audio such as a musician singing at a train station, a storm approaching, or the sound of a tractor plowing the field. This kind of story would often not have a voiceover narration. Here’s an example of a nat package.

Resources For Covering 2023-24 Prompt Topics

Submit your pitch using this form. Review these tips about how to pitch. If your pitch is accepted SRL staff may be able to support the production of your story.