we all have a story to tell. this is mine.
if this has inspired you, consider subscribing to my newsletter. I get real vulnerable there every single week while informing readers about climate news. many subscribers tell me it’s their favorite piece of writing in their inbox. check it out at the link in bio. 🌀
#mystory #journalism #firstgenlatina
a picture says a thousand words. I’m looking for photography to feature in Possibilities, my weekly climate newsletter. I’m open to all sorts of images — but I’m always drawn to those that evoke emotion: photos of people and nature, of love and relationships, of the magic that lies within our planet.
right now, the newsletter isn’t making enough revenue for me to offer licensing fees. 😞 I’m hoping it can be a space for free advertising for artists who want to get a project out there or promote books. I know exposure doesn’t pay the bills, which is why I’m only looking for images that already exist rather than commissioning original work. my goal as I wrap up my first year of publishing Possibilities is to earn enough to pay at least two photographers a month for their image use. 🤞🏼
please DM or email me if you’d like your work to be shared on my newsletter. 🌀
I lost a big client last year, so this year I’m hoping to fill the void with impactful assignments for news organizations and otherwise. if you’re interested in learning my rates or having an exploratory call, shoot me an email (in bio) or DM me.
or if you’re just interested in keeping up with my writing, subscribe to my email at the link in bio. my latest — on alex pretti — is out today.🌀
78 years since the Nakba. 78 years of dispossession, displacement, and resistance. the olive tree has always been a symbol of Palestinian rootedness. of a people who refuse to be erased from the land they come from. this poem carries that weight beautifully, so I’m sharing it today in solidarity. I wrote it while visiting the West Bank last year. 🇵🇸
you can read my original poetry in my weekly newsletter. link in bio:
I’m rooted in the land of olives
where hearts grow on trees
the empire rips them off the branches
and burns down the leaves
will the ashes fertilize the morning seeds?
and be carried by the wind—
the wind whose whistles howl
through the valleys and villages?
the women wear these tatreez patterns
around their heads and over their knees
the stitches mimic the land
the fabrics rustle with the breeze
I’m rooted in the land of olives
where the trees beat with hope
they drip with blood
yet I can’t outrun
the feeling rising in my throat—
I’m sorry, I’m sorry
I repeat
but no apology
can save the trees or the seeds
I’m rooted in the land of olives
where hearts grow on trees
I ripped out mine
and left it behind
I buried my bleeding heart
with the rocks and the clay
I surrendered it to the sacred soil that feeds
-ylf-
design by @sierra.fernald
#freepalestine #nakba #poetry
when I wrote about the Santa Marta conference in a recent newsletter, I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. now I know.
57 countries walked away with plans to develop national roadmaps away from fossil fuels and a mandate to begin formal treaty negotiations within a year. the next summit will be co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland in 2027, a small island nation on the front lines of rising seas helping lead the world off the fuels that threaten it.
lots needs to happen for these plans to materialize into real change, but this is still good news. excellent news! and exactly the kind of thing that keeps me going. I hope it does for you, too. full newsletter at the link in bio 🌀
video by @sierra.fernald
#goodnews #climatenews #santamarta
Imagination is the missing piece to building a better future — and art has the power to reclaim our power of imagination, say South African human rights and environmental justice art-activist Kumi Naidoo and journalist Yessenia Funes.
In this interview for Peace & Riot's AI Issue, Funes and Naidoo explore how to revive our imagination and restore our focus against extractive AI.
"If we do not engage now with this frightening and powerful world of AI, we risk allowing the same systems that created the climate crisis — which is greed, extraction and inequality — to shape the future of intelligence itself," says Naidoo.
"But collective power is what changes systems. The most powerful interventions and art I've seen comes from communities, not from individuals."
Because if we are to challenge the rise of fossil fuel-powered AI, we will need not only statistics, but also story.
🔗 Read the full interview at the link in bio.
📸
Slide 1: Arielle Bobb-Willis
Slide 3: The Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on June 1, 1988.
Slide 5: Global Artivism's musicians in residence perform live during the November 2025 conference. Photo by Garimpo/Waverly Street.
Slide 7: Participants paint during a workshop held at Global Artivism's conference in November 2025.
when we started planning our wedding, repurposing felt like the obvious choice. I don’t play when it comes to the Earth! 🌎
my husband and I created something beautiful with as little waste as possible. our approach made the day feel completely one of a kind—even if it required late nights cutting fabric and early mornings at the thrift store. I’d do it all again! 🎀 💗
this doesn’t mean we were perfect. I bought my dresses new—from macy’s sale rack for $20 total. I couldn’t avoid single-use plates because our venue had no kitchen to wash dishes. being sustainable isn’t about perfection. it’s about effort ♻️
you can’t recreate something thrifted. you can’t mass produce items found. like our special day, these items were just ours. 🫶🏼
video editing by @sierra.fernald
#secondhand #sustainablewedding #nycwedding
in a world filled with so much noise, I’m always aiming to be intentional about what I consume. and a lot of what I read has a special way of staying with me, becoming part of how I report.
if you want to follow along with that process, I share it every week in my newsletter. it’s part reporting, part diary, part collection of everything that’s been shaping my thinking.
like a postcard from a friend, sent every thursday.
link in bio 🌀
writing and design by @sierra.fernald
walls don’t just divide land. they change how we move, who we can reach, and what survives.
I’ve reported on this across several borders, and the pattern is hard to ignore.
if you want to keep learning about what’s happening as more of these walls go up, I hold a conversation about current events every week in my newsletter. link in bio 🌀
writing and design by @sierra.fernald
