We will be accepting concept letters under the Leadership Grant Program for the spring 2021 cycle! This program supports organizations which hire a Switzer Fellow in a staff or consulting role which addresses a critical environmental issue, elevates the fellow's leadership on that issue, and increases the capacity of the organization to address the issue. Grants of up to $40,000 are available. If you have an organization with which you would like to partner on a Leadership Grant concept, please contact Erin to discuss your idea. Deadlines are:

• February 1, 2021: Concept letters due
• March 1, 2021: Invited proposals due
• May 7, 2021: Award decisions made
• June, 2021: Awards paid

A new Network Innovation grant for $10,000 has been awarded to Jolisa Brooks, Daisy Benitez, and Genie Bey to fund the the creation of a toolkit and resources that will provide a starting point for interrogating the causes of inequity in American society, specifically as it relates to racial, environmental, gender, and economic oppression. The toolkit will highlight the importance of climate and environmental justice and how those movements are inextricably linked to the Black Lives Matter and other global social justice movements. 

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The application period for 2021 Switzer Fellowships is now open. We encourage fellows to share this news with your networks and to let us know if there are contacts whom you think we should reach out to. Please share the Call for Applications and refer potential applicants to the guidelines on our website. We continue to strongly encourage students of color, first-generation students, and individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups in environmental field graduate programs to apply. Thanks for helping us spread the word to great applicants! Completed applications (including all supporting documents) are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on January 8, 2021.

The Switzer Foundation has created a land acknowledgement, as well as a staff post about its purpose and the process of crafting such a statement during a time without physical gatherings. We are seeking feedback from the network on the acknowledgement and hope to open discussion on the process.

Read the post and provide feedback

Thawing permafrost is releasing microorganisms, with consequences that are still largely unknown, writes Kimberley Miner in the November issues of Scientific American. 

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