In June, Fitzpatrick will join journalists from the U.S., Costa Rica, Egypt and the U.K. at the annual science immersion workshop hosted by the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting.
The 10 journalists were chosen from a pool of applicants from 44 countries. Fitzpatrick was the only Canadian journalist selected for the program.
The university says the fellowship helps journalists sharpen their research and reporting skills.
“The Metcalf Fellowship provides critical context for environmental stories, builds journalists’ confidence in translating complex scientific data and gives them a unique opportunity to engage with top scientists. Metcalf Fellows leave the workshop with the background, tools and sources to break stories on a range of environmental topics,” a news release reads.
During her eight years at The Telegram, Fitzpatrick has devoted much of her time covering the natural resources sector. Last year, she won an Atlantic Journalism Award for a series she wrote on water quality.
Sunshine Menezes, executive director of the Metcalf Institute, said competition was tough this year.
“We were especially pleased to see applications from such diverse news outlets this year. Metcalf Institute training can benefit any and all news organizations, and we prioritize that broad range of perspectives in our selection process.”