“i want them to understand what it’s like to work in this profession, even just pieces of it. (i want them to) realize that to be a journalist requires curiosity, bravery, and integrity,” c.d. davidson-hiers, founder of the florida student news watch says. “being a journalist doesn’t require family money or pre-existing connections, or some kind of bravado. it’s just nerds being really brave.”

davidson-hiers, a well-accomplished freelance journalist, is on a mission to mentor students interested in journalism all across florida while fostering a deep respect for the natural world within them. she believes fostering such attitudes will prepare students for the increasing amount of eco-anxiety they will face in newsrooms amid the climate crisis. 

the florida student news watch began in 2020 while davidson-hiers was the education reporter for the tallahassee democrat. she was inspired by her own journalistic beginnings to launch her program.

“i’d reached out to the local newspaper with a pitch, and they partnered me with their sports reporter, and i went out for the weekend and covered the event that i wanted to cover, and he, just like, mentored the heck out of my writing, and then my stories got on the front page that weekend,” she says. 

though the program initially centered around students in tallahassee helping davidson-hiers report on the education beat, it evolved with her decision to become a freelance environmental journalist.

“and about two years ago, i realized that i respect education reporting, and i’m a good education reporter, but it’s not what i want to do,” she says. “i wanted to turn more to the natural world, to be able to document and understand it better. i just find it to be a lot more peaceful and rewarding. i wondered if students would keep up with the change. i didn’t have any idea of who would be interested in that. i was like, well, it’s just what i want to do. so we’ll see who shows up. and lo and behold, students still kept showing up.”

since then, the florida student news watch has been reborn as an environmentally focused journalism mentorship. each student, about eight per semester, is paired with a current environmental journalist in the field and works one-on-one with them to bring multiple stories to completion.  

besides building skills and confidence in the profession, mentors also work toward tackling eco-anxiety in their students.

“but when i think about climate anxiety, i don’t think about climate. i think about anxiety. and you know, anxiety does not equal fear. but one of the things i think that anxiety very quickly turns into, without people noticing, is a sense of helplessness and i can work with helplessness,” davidson-hiers says.

davidson-hiers believes a key strategy to combating such feelings is fostering a deep and grounding respect for the environment.

but in the moments where i have felt the most excited to be alive, have been the moments where i mattered so little, in the landscape where i was in. when i’m among the mountains, being able to look around me and be like, ‘wow, this is an entire landscape that does not depend on me, and that i am just a piece of the fabric’ is absolutely thrilling to me, because it takes so much weight off of my shoulders.”

c.d. davidson-hiers

in addition to teaching this reverence to her students, she also believes their deep respect for nature will seep into their work and leave a similar effect on their readers. 

“yeah, there’s self-expression to it, but it is a connection with people that you’ll never meet. and what i love in stories is when i learn something new, especially about something that i take for granted. it just makes you feel grounded like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself in a collaborative way.”

to see work done by the florida student news watch visit their website: https://www.studentnewswatch.org/ 

editor’s note: des lewis is a staff writer for florida student news watch.