I have been an environmentalist all my life, but for a long time, I didn’t really know how to put my passion for the planet towards bringing about real change. Thanks to Annenberg Media’s Christina Bellantoni and the Climate Center’s Allison Agsten, I was able to start the Earth desk at Annenberg Media, the first news desk at USC focused solely towards climate and environmental journalism.
In the past month, we have started a newsletter, published several articles on environmental issues here in Los Angeles, and assembled a great team of climate journalists that I am incredibly proud of.
A few tips that worked for me:
1. Start small but dream big. You want your short term goals to be achievable, but you should always try to reach for bigger things. Even though you want to implement far-reaching changes and reach a wide audience, just remember, take one step at a time and start strong and steady.
2. Know who your audience/target group is. Are you organizing a climate voting initiative for youth? Think about what issues worry them the most and what will be the best way to reach them. You need to know what people are concerned about before you can rally them towards a noble cause.
3. Trust that other people care about the environment too. You’re not alone, even though it may feel like it sometimes. Reach out to people, talk your ideas out, and you may find yourself with a team of passionate individuals
4. Ask for help whenever you need it. We have an amazing support system to help you achieve your environmental goals here at USC Annenberg’s Center for Climate Journalism and Communication. If you’re a student at the school, reach out to the Earth desk, to the Presidential Working Group on Sustainability, to the numerous sustainability organizations all across campus, and I promise we will help make your brilliant ideas come to life!
Shreya Agrawal graduated from USC with a dual bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences and English, and a master’s degree in Journalism.
