Youth and Community Engagement
The Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative (EJJI) is proud to present an ambitious and one-of-a-kind initiative.
In line with our motto, “Our Community, Our Story”, EJJI empowers young people with the skills, education, and access to develop the ability to tell the stories of important environmental justice issues about the places that they live and with the people they care about.
We founded EJJI to create and empower more minority voices in the environmental sciences and journalism. Such voices are lacking now, and without them, many stories do not get told.
Our first program was with the Henry Hall Fellowship at the National Aquarium. We built an environmental justice program into what was already one of the best regarded youth marine education programs in the region, if not the country.
What we heard when we asked for feedback is that the students “wanted to be heard” regarding the environmental disparities in their communities. The dozen or so young people we taught came from some of the places in our city that have suffered the most from toxic air, blight, lead poisoning, and sewage backups. They are aware that they are victims of environmental injustice. They just don’t know what to do about it.
To support these and other students in finding their voices, EJJI has built a network of partners made up of diverse professionals engaged in environmental justice from the perspectives of science, the law, journalism, community organizing, and on-the-river activism. Together, we show the youth in our communities that they matter, that change can happen, and how to do it.
We are here to make a difference in our city and beyond it. We are here to do big things.
Be Part of the Change
We greatly appreciate your donations - they help us to:
- Advise young people about careers in environmental justice work
- Connect high school students to college programs in their chosen fields
- Direct journalism students to magazines and newspapers that can publish their work
- Build relationships with neighborhood leaders to help them tell their stories
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS
Chesapeake Legal Alliance applies the power of the law to protect and restore clean water and promote healthy, resilient ecosystems. EJJI and CLA are partnering together to create the Fred Tutman Fellowship to engage young people interested in Environmental Law and advocacy.
LEADER BREEDERS
Leader Breeders implements change for inner-city youth by providing a space for
academic enrichment, career development, physical activity, and growing
community engagement. They provide safe spaces and programming
for Baltimore City’s youth to thrive at a Leader Breeders Youth Development
Center and partner locations in both East and West Baltimore.
West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation, Inc. (WBRF) formed when LifeBridge Health, Inc. (LifeBridge Health) expanded into West Baltimore with its acquisition of Bon Secours Hospital Baltimore, Inc., now called Grace Medical Center, Inc., in 2019. Under an arrangement between LifeBridge Health and the State of Maryland, LifeBridge Health committed to invest, through WBRF, in key community needs. EJJI has partnered with WBRF to develop youth education curricula and has taught journalism and storytelling.
The Community School is an academic and mentoring program that has worked with hundreds of students since its founding, helping them stabilize their lives, advance their education, and go on to college. EJJI has been teaching at this small city school during the summers, leading students in immersive storytelling workshops.
The National Aquarium’s Henry Hall Summer Scholars camp program offers immersive week-long summer camp opportunities that bring aquatic science to life through hands-on experiences in different aquatic habitats around the United States. The program provides exciting excursions focused on educational and career opportunities for students interested in marine and environmental science. EJJI is grateful that our teaching experience began with the Henry Hall Fellows.
For more information on our youth engagement program, get in touch at info@ejji.org
