The Youth Environmental Press Team

Earth Rising is proud to support the work of Earth Charter Indiana’s Youth Environmental Press Team (YEPT). YEPT’s mission is to amplify youth urgency on the climate crisis by supporting young people in producing journalistic content on climate and sharing it with their peers. In doing so, they not only educate readers but also find community among other young journalists, resulting in more climate-related content. 

YEPT discovers climate- and environmental-related content produced by high school journalists in their school newspapers, then republishes those stories on their own website. As YEPT has grown in recent years they are now also able to pay writers for pieces and even assign youth reporters to important climate related events. This past year YEPT sent two writers to cover Earth Charter Indiana’s Climate Leadership summit. 

YEPT’s work goes beyond the page as well. Two YEPT directors, Gabi and Elena, have been involved in efforts to pass a youth led climate resolution through their local government. This work has inspired YEPT to print physical copies so that youth coverage of the climate crisis can be handed directly to elected officials and other decision makers as a way of educating them on these issues.

The impact of YEPT’s work is also seen through the testimonies of the team’s alumni. Former director, Olivia Mapes, said “Working for YEPT has really helped me with connections and meeting other like minded people who share a passion for the environment and writing. Now I am at Purdue and I am studying Creative Writing and Literature. I tutor people at the OWL and I am a staff reporter for the Exponent, Purdue’s student paper. I am planning on becoming a journalist once I graduate.” 

We are proud to support YEPT’s work and the impact it has on youth journalists. We look forward to seeing how YEPT grows as they cover more stories, add more people to their team and continue to share the youth perspective on the climate crisis. 

To learn more about YEPT and read some of their coverage please visit https://www.youthenvironmentalpressteam.org.