Why solutions journalism

Last year, I read solution journalism articles about how rural communities capture fog to collect water for drinking, bathing, and growing food. These articles were about a creative solution supporting entire communities, not just a single homeowner. They introduced me not only to a solution I had not considered but to examples of what solutions journalism can look like. I want to share this with you because I see a lot of applications in our type of work.

Solutions journalism matters to me for two reasons:

1. It isn’t advocacy. It’s about solutions, what works and what doesn’t.
2. It is a way to create the conditions for new conversation.

How so? Taking a solutions journalism approach enables environmental education professionals to investigate a solution, provide insight into how others might adapt it, and present evidence about why a solution works and why it doesn’t. It’s the inclusion of a solution’s limitations that makes solutions journalism different from advocacy. Another thing separating it from advocacy is that it is not a profile or celebration of any one person or organization.

I take a broad view of environmental education and include anyone who incorporates it into their work, even if they don’t identify as an “environmental educator.” I use the phrase environmental education because it gets to the point more quickly than a phrase like environmental awareness.

Introducing environmental professionals to solutions journalism is one way I feel I can help practitioners take a rigorous, fact-based approach to writing about a topic and having conversations that help them establish trust and credibility in their respective fields and in the communities where they work. This approach to writing may also help build new partnerships.

This week, I will lead two sessions about solutions journalism. Both are free, and both will occur on Thursday, February 26.

Registration closes on Wednesday, February 25, at 6:00 PM (Pacific).

Are you curious about how solutions journalism can be integrated into your work?

Join us.

You are welcome to attend either session. Whatever works best for you.