FJP Community Network Grant Winner: Planet Detroit

Engage with Planet Detroit readers about environmental issues affecting their communities through events, Q&As and coverage that responds to their self-identified needs and concerns.

$25,000

Planet Detroit is a weekly email newsletter created to help Detroit and Michigan residents get smarter about their environment. We explain the most important environmental stories by aggregating independent journalism from around the state and region mixed with original reporting. Planet Detroit offers context, background, and facts to help readers understand the complexity behind the environmental issues facing their communities. We also share ways for readers to engage with Detroit’s environment. We recognize that environmental issues disproportionately impact low-income people and communities of color, so we focus on ensuring those stories are told. With funding from the Facebook Journalism Project, Planet Detroit will host 4 convenings with residents and organizations in Detroit's most vulnerable neighborhoods — those identified in 2019 by University of Michigan researchers as environmental justice hotspots. These are the communities at the frontlines of climate change and industrial pollution. These convenings will focus on gathering stories on the environmental issues facing Detroit's communities and identifying key information needs and gaps within those communities. Out of these convenings, we will publish a minimum of 2 stories about each community and identify service journalism opportunities where we can help meet the information needs of these residents. Our ultimate goal is to arm those who lack resources with the information they need to help protect their environment and cope with climate change. We also aim to raise the voices of the unheard so that the region can collectively take a step toward understanding the impact of the climate crisis on communities.

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