Five Tyee Fellowship Recipients Chosen

Picking five winners among nearly 50 strong entries was a difficult task, admitted members of the blue-ribbon judging panel who awarded the latest round of $5,000 Tyee Reporting Fellowships. Their eventual selections span a range of subjects including foreign workers, mothers-to-be, wood burning energy projects, hydraulic fracturing, and mining in Mexico.

The Tyee Fellowships are 100 per cent funded by charitable-deductible donations from our supportive community of readers. The recipients must use the funds to carry out the researching and writing of non-partisan journalism in the public interest, with a focus on B.C. related issues.

This year's recipients are:

Calyn Shaw on "The Fracking Divide"

Liam Barrington-Bush and Jenny Wilton on "B.C. Mining in Oaxaca"

Jeremy J. Nuttall on "B.C.'s Temporary Foreign Workers"

Alexandra Samur on "The Price of Pregnancy for B.C.'s Marginalized Moms"

Robert McClure on "Incinerating Waste Timber"

Previous projects

These five carry on a rich tradition at The Tyee. Previous recipients carried out high impact projects published on The Tyee and, in some cases, elsewhere as well. Those reader-funded series have broken major stories, empowered citizens, and won national awards. Examples:

Richard Warnica's award-winning "Death in Remand," which traced the inner workings, and potential failings of B.C.'s remand system.

Jackie Wong's in-depth series uncovering where protection begins and ends for renters in Vancouver.

A highly influential news-breaking investigative series by Chris Wood: "Rough Weather Ahead: How global warming will hit BC."

A solutions series praised by aboriginal leaders and widely read, by Sandra Shields: "Reconciling with First Nations: How the 'New Relationship' is faring in the Fraser Valley."

A wildly popular and vigorously debated solutions series by writer and activist Dave Olsen: "No Fares! Time for a free ride on public transit."

A journey taken with fair-traded flowers from the fields of Colombia to the vendor stalls of B.C. by Gabriela Perdomo.

Public school teacher Nick Smith's journey to seek out the best education minds and report on "Teaching that Inspires."

Amanda Euringer's empowering series "Toxic Work: Know Your Rights," a finalist for a National Magazine Award.

Justin Langille's intimate portrait of migrant farm workers "invisible" in B.C.'s fields.

David Tracey's far-ranging coverage of the urban farming revolution in B.C. and beyond.

Chris Cannon's guide to what you can do to help save the planet by participating in the new sharing economy.

And Jacqueline Windh's series "Native Youth Speak Out," which gave 14 First Nations teenagers an opportunity to share their views on school, alcohol and drugs, family, culture and language.

Many thanks

We are extremely grateful to the expert panelists who gave their time and knowledge in selecting the fellowship winners. The three judges this round were:

Candis Callison, assistant professor at UBC's Graduate School of Journalism.

Anne Roberts, recently retired director of Langara College's Journalism Program

John Vaillant, author and journalist.

Many thanks as well to those who so generously gave to enable ambitious, in-depth journalism to be carried out a time when it can appear an endangered species.

Fundraising for the Tyee Fellowships is on hiatus at the moment, but if you want to support special journalism projects at The Tyee a great way to do so is to become a Tyee Builder. Find out about that by clicking here.