Freelance photojournalist Jesse Winter and The Globe and Mail reporter Andrea Woo were awarded the R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship in May.
Valued at $25,000, the award is administered by Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communications. The fellowship was created in honour of Jim Travers, a longtime reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and Toronto Star who died in 2011.
The fellowship gives journalists the opportunity to dig into international issues that have an impact in Canada, according to Susan Harada, co-chair of the fellowship committee and associate professor for Carleton’s School of Journalism and Communication.
Harada said recipients of the fellowship have gone on to report on global matters such as the Syrian refugee crisis.
This year’s recipients will travel to Australia to investigate possible solutions to wildfires and other environmental disasters in B.C.
Last year’s recipients reported on childcare in Canada and global COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
“If you look at the stories being produced, they have international importance but they also have a significant impact on Canadians and Canada,” Harada said.
Winter, who graduated from Carleton’s Master’s of Journalism program in 2016, said he had his eye on the fellowship for a while.
“After covering some of the wildfires and climate disasters last summer, I thought this would be a good fit,” he said.
After deciding to apply, Winter reached out to Woo, a national reporter at The Globe and Mail and journalist with over a decade of experience, to apply with him. The two have worked together in the past on stories for The Globe and Mail.
Unlike B.C, Australia uses a system of volunteer wildfire brigades which alleviate some of the burden on the country and its regions. Winter and Woo will look to Australia to investigate how B.C’s system can be improved. A major issue in B.C. is the prioritization of resources for bigger communities, which leaves residents in rural areas without adequate support.
According to Woo, their hope is to show B.C. how to implement bits and pieces of the Australian system.
“[Australia’s] system is by no means perfect,” Woo said. “It’s a system that was born over a century ago and it’s not so much about importing a volunteer model completely, but incorporating what works.”
Winter will focus on the visual side of the project: Taking photos and filming. Woo will be writing and reporting on the ground. Their work will be published in The Globe and Mail.
Winter believes combining elements of both the Australian and B.C. models is what is needed to combat the issue.
“[Australia is] also having difficulties with a volunteer-run system so my hypothesis going in is that we’ll need a mix of both systems for the scale of threat we’re facing,” he said.
Both Woo and Winter said they were grateful for the fellowship and for the opportunity to play their part in combating the issue of wildfires and other climate disasters.
“I don’t think this project would be happening without the grant. Even at a national newspaper with some funding, it still wouldn’t be enough, so we are very grateful for the opportunity,” Woo said.
Featured photos provided by Jesse Winter and Andrea Woo.
