What does climate change look like in your community?

For this project, your challenge will be to produce a FEATURE STORY about climate change in your community.

Questions to consider:

• What impact is the climate crisis having on your community, and how is it being addressed or not addressed?
• What is your school doing about the climate crisis? What are your local communities and governments doing?
• Are there any major local investments in your community that may help tackle or even contribute to the climate crisis?
• Are there any big debates in your local community or local government related to the climate crisis?
• What are inventors and citizen scientists doing to measure and address climate damage to your environment?

News Package (3-5 min long):

Video stories about newsworthy issues and topics, factual information, balanced reporting, research, voice overs, soundbites, b-roll footage, infographics, reporter standup, nats (natural sound bites). EXAMPLES:

• Ohio State Representative: "Government needs to protect farmers against climate change"
• Every year, New Mexico residents must dig deeper to find drinkable water
• Alaska citizen scientists document how their land and sea are changing

Short doc or Less "Newsy" Story (4-8 min long):

A short doc or story that shows real events and fact-based information about an issue, person, or place. EXAMPLE:

• This school runs on renewable resources & clean energy

No matter which format you choose, b-roll is going to be very important. A good profile, short doc, news package or NAT package could be taken to the next level with some great b-roll!

Use b-roll as the VISUAL REPRESENTATION of the story. If you are interviewing someone, listen closely, make notes, and then record video of the actions, objects, and places described during the interview. Especially for this project, strong b-roll will help communicate the story of the artwork or artist you choose.

THINK CRITICALLY

As individuals or in small groups, complete a “Three/Two/One” activity:

1. Brainstorm Three potential ways that climate change impacts your area
2. Find Two links to articles or online resources about the topic as it relates to your community. Each group should use different search terms. Don’t pick the first two results. Check each article or resource for:
   1. Publication date
   2. Domain name
   3. Information in the “About Us” page
   4. References from multiple sources
3. In one of the articles or resources you found, or through a separate search, find and provide the contact information for One person with Expertise, Experience and/or Emotion related to the topic in your community.

Here is an example of what this could look like:

1. Brainstorm
   1. Seattle was extremely dry this summer, going 51 days without measurable rain – tied with 1951 as the second longest period on record. Seriously!
   2. There were many unusually hot days in the Seattle area this summer in an area where most homes have no A/C because of the normally mild climate.
   3. The Seattle area had unusually torrential rains this winter that caused landslides and closed roadways.
2. Here are two of the articles the Google search terms ”Climate Change in Seattle” returned which included potential expert contacts for this topic:
   1. Climate Equity Community Task Force - and there are many links to additional resources and names of potential contacts at the bottom of this link.
   2. King County Builds Blueprint for Health, Climate Change
3. The second article mentions this person with Expertise: “Dr. Jeff Duchin is a county public health officer who presented at a Nov. 21 Board of Health meeting. He outlined ways climate change could affect health locally.”
   1. Be sure to research the expert to make sure it is a credible source.
   2. A search of this expert’s name resulted in this link to establish his credibility.
   3. Craft your class message and start the conversation!

Learn more about climate change here.

FIND YOUR STORY

Use this storytelling roadmap to complete your story. Use it as both a guide and a checklist.

This challenge does not have an active deadline to submit to PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. However, students are encouraged to publish their stories on their school/club/program website or through video/social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or Twitter and tag Student Reporting Labs. Check with your teacher to find out instructions for class submissions.

FACEBOOK: /STUDENTREPORTINGLABS

TWITTER: @REPORTINGLABS

INSTAGRAM: @STUDENTREPORTINGLABS

TIKTOK: @REPORTINGLABS