Metcalf Institute

08/18/2026

In the face of climate doom, Metcalf's Executive Director Fara Warner strongly believes journalism can go beyond just documenting climate challenges to help readers move toward meaningful action.

This idea is top of mind as Fara joins up with an advanced “deep strategy” cohort of the Media Transformation Challenge, a follow-up to the leadership program for journalists and communicators she was a part of in 2020. This cohort brings together alumni from the previous one for another round of coaching, collaboration, and strategic planning in Washington, D.C. Her goal from 2020 remains the same: “to shift the coverage of climate change from unsolvable and apocalyptic to actionable and engaging.” This year, she plans to focus her time in the program on how Metcalf can accelerate its work with scientists and communicators beyond traditional trainings and fellowships.

📰 Read more on the College of the Environment and Life Sciences website: https://ow.ly/BkTs50ZB0ck

We're excited to hear about the new ideas she returns with!

08/04/2026

Last week, we took eight journalists and science communicators out in the field (or rather, the silvopasture) – and also through the woods, on the water, and in research labs at University of Rhode Island, where scientists and experts provided hands-on experience and discussions about their work addressing environmental and climate challenges.

It was a pleasure to host the eight Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications winners through rain and shine during this workshop exploring topics ranging from pollution and contaminants to marine and land ecosystems to reporting on disasters. We can't wait to see what they cover next!

Schmidt Sciences
College of the Environment and Life Sciences
URI Graduate School of Oceanography

07/28/2026

We were thrilled to collaborate with the College of the Environment and Life Sciences to produce this short video demystifying the concept of scientific uncertainty. Thank you Jessica Minker and Kendra Apgar for bring your expertises together to make this happen, and Fara Warner for narrating!

Watch and share the video on YouTube:
https://lnkd.in/eiU6SX2m

In everyday language, "uncertainty" means not knowing. In science, ...

07/27/2026

If this summer has seemed like it’s had more hot days than past years, it’s not your imagination.

In “Record-Setting 4th of July Heatwave Had More to Do with Climate Change than El Niño,” Eric Halvarson reports for The Providence Eye on the impacts and possible causes of recent spikes in temperature, and spoke with climate scientists including University of Rhode Island's own Dr. Ambarish Karmalkar about the serious consequences, especially for urban areas like Providence that see temps 8-10 degrees higher than rural areas.

Eric was a fellow in Metcalf’s Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists this June (and The Providence Eye was part of our Climate Ready Newsrooms fellowship), and Ambarish, an assistant professor of geosciences, took part in the SciComm Identities Project Fellowship. It’s great when our journalist and scientist alumni can come together to tell climate stories that better inform the community!

📰 Read the full article here:
https://ow.ly/gabC50Zs1WF

07/23/2026

✍️ The July 31 deadline is fast approaching to apply for Climate Ready Newsrooms!

For New England newsrooms looking to increase and strengthen their climate and science coverage, apply for this unique fellowship that focuses on the whole newsroom rather than an individual, with interactive trainings, goal-oriented coaching, contact with a network of peers and experts, and a stipend.

Climate science is already part of nearly every local beat. Breaking news, housing, health, energy, food, sports, culture, and public policy stories increasingly intersect with today’s climate and environmental challenges. Yet many local newsrooms are being asked to cover these complex issues with smaller staffs, fewer resources, and little or no dedicated climate expertise. Metcalf’s Climate Ready Newsrooms fellowship is designed to bolster newsrooms working under those constraints.

Learn more online, and apply by Friday, July 31! ⬇️
https://ow.ly/6e0C50ZrZAF

07/16/2026

Ghost gear isn't as spooky as it sounds – but it does pose frightful environmental challenges! 👻

During AWJ last month, we visited Izabela Ciesielska-Wrobel and Maggie Harrison at the Textile Science Laboratory in the Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design (TMD), URI College of Business. Our 10 journalist fellows had the opportunity to examine, clean, and reprocess abandoned fishing gear – known as ghost gear – to give these waste items new life in the form of usable material, while learning the costs and benefits of this process. Fellows even got to use the Xplore Microcompounder, a unique piece of equipment for reprocessing plastics.

"Events like this are important because they bring attention to urgent environmental issues while showing how textile science, polymer processing, and material innovation can contribute to potential solutions," shared Izabela.

Follow along for more glimpses of the science immersions Metcalf Institute allows journalists to experience firsthand!

07/13/2026

Looking for guidance on covering extreme weather in a landscape of disappearing data? Sign up for Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's Connector Chat this Thursday, July 16!

Next week: Join our Connector Chat for tips on covering extreme weather when data are disappearing, featuring climate reporter Sarah Kaplan, Capital Weather's Jason Samenow, and statistician Christopher Wikle, moderated by Regina Nuzzo, and co-organized with the American Statistical Association.

They'll walk through the pipeline from data analysis to media publication, address how the changing data landscape is affecting the questions they can ask and answer, and offer tips for reporting on this dynamic and challenging beat.

Register: bit.ly/weather-chat

07/08/2026

Are you part of a New England newsroom and want to get more savvy in your science and environment reporting? 🌎✍️

Climate science is already part of nearly every local beat. Breaking news, housing, health, energy, food, sports, culture, and public policy stories increasingly intersect with today’s climate and environmental challenges. Yet many local newsrooms are being asked to cover these complex issues with smaller staffs, fewer resources, and little or no dedicated climate expertise.

Metcalf’s Climate Ready Newsrooms fellowship is designed to bolster newsrooms working under those constraints.

We're thrilled to open applications for our third cohort of this unique fellowship that focuses on the whole newsroom rather than an individual, with interactive trainings, goal-oriented coaching, contact with a network of peers and experts, and a stipend.

Learn more online, and apply by July 31! ⬇️
https://ow.ly/VQNh50ZleG6

07/02/2026

The team at Metcalf Institute is excited to welcome eight Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications winners to an all-new summer workshop!

This immersive experience is designed to bring together science communicators from around the world to engage deeply with leading scientists, researchers, and experts, explore emerging scientific challenges and opportunities, and strengthen reporting grounded in evidence and context. The workshop will be held at the University of Rhode Island July 27-31, 2026.

Congratulations to the awardees!
Tristan Baurick
Yvette Cabrera
Miguel Dobrich
Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
Charles Piller
Sofia Qu***ia
Kyne Santos
Daniel Shailer

Learn more on our website:
https://ow.ly/aIZm50ZjGi1

06/26/2026

Our 2026 AWJ fellows have had a busy week! We explored Narragansett Bay aboard the URI Cap'n Bert research trawl, learned about microplastics in relation to age-related disease and PFAS testing, toured the Centerdale Superfund Site, tested for noise and light pollution in Providence, visited an oyster farm serving as an environmental restoration project, and much more.

Today we're distilling all of these immersions and trainings into learning how to tell the research story for the final day of the Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists!