Journalism Fellowships; Evolving Meta-Ecosystems Institute

Mission

Woodwell Climate Research Center (Woodwell Climate) conducts science for solutions at the nexus of climate, people, and nature. We partner with leaders and communities for just meaningful impact to address the climate crisis.

Woodwell Climate is a rapidly growing, top-ranked, independent non‑profit climate research institute whose mission is to advance science‑based climate policies through scientific research and outreach. Our world‑leading research and impact helps individuals, organizations, corporations, communities, and nations understand the realities of climate change, recognize the impact on our planet, and embrace the urgent action needed to safeguard the future of life on Earth.

Join Woodwell’s Evolving Meta‑Ecosystems Institute (EVOME) for a unique opportunity to experience cutting edge research as Journalism Fellow in Northern Alaska. The National Science Foundation‑supported EVOME will provide fellowships for six science journalists to participate in a two‑week immersion in interdisciplinary evolutionary and global change biology being conducted at the University of Alaska’s Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska.

Ecosystems are complex communities of plants and animals that have evolved with each other and their shared environment over long periods of time. Understanding how these systems change over time is a grand challenge in biology—made even more urgent and policy‑relevant by rapid changes in the Earth’s climate. This is particularly true for the Arctic, which is warming at least three times faster than the global average.

EVOME brings together experts from across biological disciplines to generate new insights at every scale of biology, with the goal of understanding whether species and ecosystems can evolve to match the pace of change, or whether they might fall apart or muddle along in a reduced state.

EVOME Journalism Fellowships offer a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with the scientists and experiments answering this critical question. The program will run June 14 to June 28, 2026. The first week will provide a hands‑on exploration of key questions being asked at the intersection of evolutionary biology and Arctic ecology as part of the EVOME Institute. Then, fellows will team up with EVOME or Toolik‑based research scientists, students, and postdocs, and work side‑by‑side with them in the field and laboratory.

Fellows will have options to conduct interviews with other Toolik scientists, students, and staff, and will be expected to share their expertise in discussions and mentoring sessions with scientists, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students at Toolik.

Applicants must have a minimum of three years of experience as professional journalists or science writers. Applicants must be physically capable of walking a mile over uneven ground, and must pass a background check.

The Toolik Field Station, in the foothills of the Brooks Range about 150 miles south of the Arctic Ocean, is the U.S.’s most important Arctic scientific research station. It is the site of the National Science Foundation’s Arctic Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project and the Evolving Meta‑ecosystems Institute (EVOME). The station can accommodate about 130 scientists at any one time.

It’s a hub of activity for researchers and students in the U.S. Arctic each summer. Station residents live dorm‑style in simple but comfortable rooms. Meals are served in a communal dining hall overlooking beautiful Toolik Lake and high peaks of the Brooks Range. Scientists work in a variety of laboratory buildings and permanent tents on the Station’s grounds. Fellows will work in a specially‑outfitted field laboratory with heat, electric power, and fast internet access.

The fellowship program will run from June 14 to June 30. Travel will be to and from Fairbanks by truck or van via the Dalton Highway that connects Fairbanks to the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. The road is about half asphalt and half gravel. The trip is about 11 hours under good conditions but can be several hours longer if there are weather‑ or…