Hi fellow Uprooters! I’m Monica Samayoa, environment reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting and Steering Committee Co-Chair!

A few weeks ago, the Steering Committee members met where it all started for Uproot — Seattle! We went back to our roots to get together for a few days to finally get to work in person. After spending so much time on Zoom and looking at each other through tiny squares, getting to spend time together in person was amazing.

In two days of packed sessions, we got A LOT of work done. We thought a lot about what will continue to make The Uproot Project successful — what do our members need now, and what will our members need in the future. And let me tell you, a lot of great things are coming! We are still working on solidifying our foundation and one of the biggest outcomes from the retreat was deciding to transition to The Uproot Project’s Board. This will allow our director, Lucia Priselac, and our staff to make some decisions on their own and get the ball rolling on projects quicker!

Building something from scratch takes a lot of work, communication, and patience. After a lot of thought and discussion, we wanted to enable Uproot to grow and evolve. So moving forward, we’re going to continue to build out our brand, increase our member engagement and look for more partnerships — while always keeping our members’ best interests in mind when making these decisions. We also got started on outlining our yearly goals starting next Fall.  

And it wasn’t just all work. Did you know we love to karaoke? Slack me your fav songs to sing!

The time we spent allowed us to create an even bigger bond with each other and in turn has reinvigorated our commitment to you.  And there’s still a lot of work to be done!  

Uproot has so many great things coming in the next few years and together, we are all working on changing the narrative on the climate crisis! So I'm borrowing a line from our fellow Board member, Justin Worland, WATCH THIS SPACE! 

UprootandAway!

What Are You Planting? 

This week’s member spotlight features the newest addition to The Uproot Project Steering Committee, Christina Colón! Christina is our new Social Media Project Lead.

• Are you a book-curious environmental writer or journalist? Join The Uproot Project for a panel discussion about pivoting from articles to books. On July 12th, we'll be hosting writers Megan Kimble, Emma Marris, and Michelle Nijhuis, along with Island Press VP/Executive Editor Heather Boyer, for a Zoom panel on transitioning from writing articles to writing books. This event will run from 5-6pm Eastern, including time for your questions.
  Register on Eventbrite
• The Seedling is looking for writers! That’s right, you could get paid to write for this very newsletter. If you're interested in writing for The Seedling, please email info@uprootproject.org with a short writing sample and any topics you'd want to write about. *At this time, we are only able to pay writers who are based in the US and authorized to work here. If you have any questions, please let us know

• Mother Jones, The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Deadline: July 5
• Rest of World, Feature Reporting Fellowship Deadline: June 30
• The Seattle Times, Environment Reporter, Race & Equity Reporter Deadline: N/A
• Wall Street Journal, Climate Newsletter Editor Deadline: N/A
• Coda Story, 2022 Bruno Reporting Fellowships Deadline: July 20
• The Washington Post, Global Climate Correspondent Deadline: July 9
• Gulf Shores Newsroom, Environmental Justice Reporter Deadline: N/A

• Join us on Slack! Recent topics have ranged from favorite hot sauce (stemming from an article about the Sriracha shortage, of course) and sharing frustration about the recent Supreme Court EPA ruling
• Have you had the chance to check out our new database? It includes a roster of editors, mentors, subject matter experts, sources, and other journalists of color. Please share widely!