Describe the reporting project you hope to pursue with this fellowship. Please include your preferred medium (i.e. digital, audio, video, multimedia, etc.)

My attention was drawn to the phenomenon known as late frost when in 2018, here in Oakland, California—we saw an unseasonably warm winter. Temperatures reached into the 80s, which prompted many deciduous trees to begin blooming early. Later in February, a cold snap clamped down. Oakland was mostly spared being close to the coast, but further inland, the state’s fruit orchards took a hit. I remember this vividly because I had watched a video posted on an urban farmers’ Youtube channel which documented the glassy, early morning icicles forming on the branches of his orchard which he had liberally irrigated from overhead the night before as the temperatures dipped into the sub 30s. His version was decidedly DIY, but a similar technique is traditionally used by some orchardists in an attempt to attenuate the ill effects of late frost. The clear ice that forms around the blossoming branch insulates the tree. Many farmers however, rely solely on drip irrigation and can’t afford the added cost that an overhead sprinkler system would entail. California’s cherry yields that year were cut in half. Last year’s cherry crop was also affected by late frost. 

I wish to report on what this late frost means for the state’s ephemeral signifiers of summertime: cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, and nectarines; and the farmers who grow them for local consumption. My piece will explore how/if stone fruits in this state will continue to persist into the 21st century as winters get warmer. I am particularly drawn to a few multigenerational diasporic farmers in the Fresno area who rarely ship their product across state lines, and whose operators are keenly aware of the phenology or the changing seasons.

This will be first and foremost a story about adaptation. I want to paint a picture of what worries farmers, how seasonal volatility affects their livelihood, and how they address the challenges of continuing to produce these crops. I also want listeners (this piece will be audio driven) to reflect on cultural memory—the tastes and smells that consumers have come to associate so strongly with summer. May they dissipate? And what may come in their place as extreme weather becomes the norm?

The finished piece will be delivered as a podcast with a scripted reporting component alongside interviews in the field. I plan to speak directly with farmers, as well as experts in the agricultural sector, climatologists, and farm worker advocacy groups.

I will also produce a written transcript with accompanying photographs. I plan to take most of the photos myself, but would like to pay a more seasoned photographer to go out with me on at least one reporting trip.

Proposed reporting timeline

My reporting will unfold over the course of one growing season, with the cherry harvest in May/June, the peach/nectarine harvest in June/July, and the plum harvest in July/August. Beyond that, the scripting/editing phase will continue for about 10-12 weeks. I plan to produce an early draft by September 1st (or possibly earlier) and a final script with accompanying scratch draft (all narrative audio tracked with rough cuts of source material) by October 15th. I expect to have something ready to air on or before December 1st.

How does your project idea shed light on an under-covered or poorly understood environmental justice topic? Describe the current coverage of this topic, and how your project will deepen the public’s understanding.

Early reports are emerging on the damaging effects of the late frost on this year’s almond crop. (Almonds are close cousins of the fruits I plan to write about). One farmer in Fresno tells me that the late winter storm has affected their early season varieties, but that their orchards are diversified for this very reason, so the freeze may have only put a small dent on their harvest. Flowering trees need a certain number of chill hours to produce good fruit, so a particularly cold winter may paradoxically be a good thing for their yields overall. Some similar reporting has been done this year on the record warmth occurring on the other side of the continent leaving Georgia's peach and blueberry crops very vulnerable. I am also reminded of some reporting from last year on the effects of extreme heat on farm workers in the Central Valley and the resultant crops that may eventually disappear from the marketplace, such as raisins. California farm workers were also ravaged by the atmospheric rivers earlier this year. Farm work is grueling. The industry is rife with exploitation—low wages and dangerous working conditions. The contemptuous food system captures the long arc of violence that frames all sectors of the capitalist economy. It is one of my goals as a journalist to explore what stands in the way between farmers of color and economic security.

Do you already have a commitment from a news organization willing to publish this story? If not, where do you envision this story being published?

No, I have not yet secured a news outlet to publish this. I would love to pitch this to a food justice publication like Civil Eats, Whetstone, or Emergence Magazine. Other possible homes for this piece might be Mold Magazine, Mother Jones, or The New Republic.

If you have prior experience reporting on environmental justice, please describe it here.

I previously produced UpFront, a drive-time FM radio news show that broadcasts to Central and Northern California. I produced several climate-related segments for the show including an interview with Paiute/Shoshone activists fighting a proposed lithium mine in Thacker Pass, Nevada, multiple segments on the Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline, a debate on net metering policy affecting California rooftop solar users; and an interview with Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch about the fate of the Brazilian Amazon following Bolsonaro’s defeat in the 2022 presidential election. I’ve also reported short daily assignment pieces on environmental justice issues, for example, one on legacy pollutants in the Appalachians and an ambitious policy proposal to aid farmworkers on the eve of the coronavirus pandemic.

How would you fit your reporting for this fellowship in with your other professional commitments?

I’m working part time now as a gardener/landscaper while I wait to hear back from grad schools, so with respect to this piece, the scripting timeline would overlap with my academic commitments. That could delay the publication date a bit, but it wouldn’t conflict with the actual reporting, most of which would mostly take place prior to date classes commence. (My school of choice is also in California). I currently have a contract for Making Contact to report a piece for their podcast. That will wrap up sometime in May, so it is very feasible to fit this in with my other responsibilities.

Do you need editorial support from The Uproot Project? If so, what sort of assistance would benefit you?

It depends. If I find an outlet to publish this, then they might very well provide editorial support. I do have existing ties to a local radio station here that I’m sure would be happy to air this. (They have a transmitter in Fresno, so that would be very appropriate). However, they have little editorial support to offer me, so in that case—I would need help from an editor to do script revisions with me. I can handle all the editing and audio mixing myself.