Planet Detroit’s Climate Solutions and Service Journalism Reporting Fellow Ethan Bakuli has been selected as one of six journalists for the 2026 National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships (SHERF) program, marking the latest recognition of his collaborative work at the intersection of climate, health, and environmental justice.
The fellowship is a collaboration of the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW), and the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), offering training, mentoring, and networking opportunities to early-career journalists pursuing careers in science, health, or environmental reporting.
Supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the program offers fellows membership, registration, and support to attend all three partner organizations’ national conferences, along with custom training and professional mentors to assist with career development for a year.
“We’re excited to welcome this year’s cohort to SHERF — one of the best fellowship opportunities in our field because it works at the intersection of science, health and environment,” said Kelsey Ryan, executive director of AHCJ. “These fellows bring tremendous potential to our field as early career professionals, and we’re happy to be a part of their journey.”
Bakuli said he’s excited for the opportunity to deepen his technical knowledge at the intersection of environmental, health, and science reporting.
“I’ve learned a lot on the job as a reporter with Planet,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the time and space I’ll have this year to pick up more skills and insights that I can bring back to our coverage of flooding, air pollution, and health outcomes for residents in environmentally burdened communities.”
Three fellowships supporting Planet Detroit’s climate and health reporting
Bakuli’s SHERF selection builds on two other major fellowships he’s pursuing in partnership with Planet Detroit in 2026.
In November 2025, he was selected for the inaugural USC Health and Climate Change Reporting Fellowship from the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Journalism.
Through this fellowship, Bakuli is investigating the physical and mental health challenges Metro Detroiters face due to chronic flooding, particularly in eastside neighborhoods experiencing repeated street flooding and basement backups. His reporting will be published in Planet Detroit in 2026 with community engagement support from USC’s program.
Additionally, Planet Detroit was selected for the Solutions Journalism Network’s Revenue Accelerator Program beginning in March 2026. Through this partnership, Ethan will produce at least two deeply reported solutions stories per month, centered on Detroit-area residents, organizations, and coalitions addressing environmental and public health challenges, including flooding and water infrastructure, air quality, food access, energy affordability, and neighborhood-scale climate resilience. Each story will examine not only what is working, but how and why—including conditions for replication and scale.
The Revenue Accelerator work pairs sustained solutions reporting with audience engagement strategies and philanthropic development, helping Planet Detroit build durable systems to support community-centered journalism.
Bakuli’s recent investigation into Detroit’s flooding and health impacts examined how repeated basement flooding creates respiratory hazards, mental health crises, and financial burdens for Detroit families—particularly in historically disinvested neighborhoods. This work exemplifies the intersection of science, health, and environmental reporting that the SHERF fellowship supports.
Before joining Planet Detroit, Bakuli covered education and community issues for Chalkbeat Detroit and worked as a freelance journalist reporting on race and labor issues. He also taught high school students how to produce audio and visual stories about their communities—an experience that cemented his belief in the power of community-led journalism.
The 2026 SHERF fellows were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants. More than 35 journalists have participated in the program since 2022.
Read more of Ethan’s reporting at planetdetroit.org/author/ethan-bakuli.
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