©River Claure, Female farmer covered in sheepskins in Uncia, Bolivia, on November 26, 2023.

Now in its third year, Vital Impacts has awarded seven environmental photography fellowships totaling $50,000 and eleven year-long mentorships to visionary photographers illuminating the profound and often fragile connection between people and the planet. As support for indepth environmental storytelling declines and the urgency of these stories continues to grow, Vital Impacts champions the artists whose images spark empathy, inspire action, and remind us of our collective responsibility to protect the Earth we call home.

Vital Impacts is thrilled to announce the 2026 recipients of $50,000 in Environmental Photography Fellowships, honoring the legacy of visionary leaders including Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chico Mendes, Madonna Thunder Hawk, E.O. Wilson and Ian Lemaiyan. Fellows were selected for their locally rooted storytelling that highlights solutions and community resilience. In addition, 11 emerging photographers will participate in year-long intensive mentorships, developing their craft and vision.

This year’s judging panel included Alessia Glaviano, Head of Global PhotoVogue, Azu Nwagbogu, Founder and Director of African Artists’ Foundation and Lagos Photo Festival Evgenia Arbugaeva, National Geographic Storytelling Fellow and Academy Award Nominee, Kathy Moran, Deputy Director of Photography at National Geographic and Pat Kane, Vital Impacts Environmental Jane Goodall Fellowship Winner.

River Claure (Cochabamba, Bolivia) has recently recevied the  E.O. Wilson Fellowship to  document how totora reed boats become vessels of memory and resistance as Andean waters disappear in his project, A Boat for the Future of the Mountains.

© River Claure, Detail of the taxi interior in Lallagua, Bolivia, on November 21, 2023.

River Claure (Cochabamba, Bolivia) is a Bolivian photographer and visual artist known for meticulously constructed portraits and magical landscapes. His work questions dominant notions of cultural identity and explores the role of photographic images in shaping our perception of reality.

The son of an emigrant family from a small Andean community, Claure grew up in the city, navigating the tensions between his Indigenous roots and urban realities in the early 21st century. He trained first in his hometown of Cochabamba, then studied contemporary photography in Madrid. His work has been exhibited internationally, and in 2024 he participated in the main exhibition of the 60th Venice International Art Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa.

Claure lives and works in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Instagram: @riverclaure

©River Claure, Doña Flora lies down on her granddaughter’s lap in Llallagua, Bolivia, on November 30, 2023.

A Boat for the Future of the Mountains

The idea for this project was born in 2024, when I met the Uru Uru Team, an association researching ways to clean Lake Uru Uru (Bolivia) using totora (Schoenoplectus californicus) reeds to filter toxic mining waste. During visits to the site, I saw what remained of the water in this community—just three hours from my home: a dry, fragmented terrain where, only a few decades ago, people fished and drank directly from the lake. There I understood that this crisis—which I do not call merely “ecological,” “political,” or “social”—is above all a crisis of values. It is not a future threat, but an irreversible present shaping the lives of these people.

For the past nine years, I have been working on projects across the Bolivian Andes. My family comes from a small mountain community called Calacota, and our history has been deeply marked by mining. In the 1960s, my grandparents and my mother migrated to the city. My artistic practice has allowed me to return, reflect on the realities of these communities in the 21st century, and consider the significance of producing images within the contexts where they are created.

©River Claure, Inverted mountain in Llallagua, Bolivia, on October 11, 2023.

The project begins with this realization: Andean bodies of water are disappearing. Drought, mining pollution, and rising temperatures have placed local ways of life at risk. From this, I set out to photograph the present existence of these communities while also imagining the future through what I call A Boat for the Future of the Mountains: collectively built time capsules. Totora reed boats, once used for navigation, are transformed here into arks carrying stories, portraits, and meaningful objects—boats that float between memory and anticipation, between life before disappearance and the possibility of a different tomorrow.

I am deeply interested in recovering the baroque-mestizo tradition that shaped the Andes, where depictions of the Last Judgment and colonial Hells terrified and instructed Indigenous peoples about an inevitable end. Reclaiming that iconography through contemporary photography considers how the “end of the world” is not a theological promise or distant myth, but a concrete reality for those watching their lagoons, waters, and ways of life vanish. It is a dialogue between memory, myth, and the present: a visual investigation that documents disappearance while simultaneously creating symbols of resistance.

©River Claure, Tuba with wings in Catavi, Bolivia, on October 6, 2023.

The project unfolds in two parts: first, producing photographic images together with the communities of Uru Murato, Machacamarca, and Paria; and second, designing and building time capsules with local artisans. These capsules, made of stone and clad with totora reeds in the form of boats, will be collectively buried in the middle of the dry lake—like treasure chests, like space probes traveling into the unknown, like boats for the future of the mountains.

©River Claure, Limbert stands on beer crates, holding a bag of coca leaves and raising his right hand in Catavi, Bolivia, on October 12, 2023.

©River Claure, Woman looking for something in a pond in Uncia, Bolivia, on December 5, 2023.

©River Claure, Donkey and man inside a room in Catavi, Bolivia, on December 14, 2023.

©River Claure, A man gestures with his hands in Uncia, Bolivia, on October 27, 2023.

About the Fellowships

Vital Impacts is dedicated to supporting visual storytellers who capture compelling, solutions-focused environmental stories at the local level. We are grateful to be able to offer one $20,000 fellowship and six $5,000 fellowships to help bring these vital stories to life. Fellows have twelve months to develop their projects, with support from Vital Impacts to publish and showcase their work.

“Our aim is to support and nurture the next generation of environmental storytellers through grants and mentoring programs,” said founder Ami Vitale “We aspire to create opportunities for these emerging voices to explore complex environmental issues with originality and nuance at this critical moment.” 

The 2026 Mentorship Recipients

In addition to the grants, ten emerging photographers from diverse regions will participate in an intensive mentorship program designed to enhance their storytelling skills and artistic vision.

Over the span of twelve months, these individuals will have the opportunity to engage in one-on-one sessions with industry experts, renowned photographers, and influential photo editors. Through these sessions, participants will refine their storytelling skills, receive guidance on navigating the industry, and establish vital connections.

About Vital Impacts

Over the past fifty years, Earth’s wildlife populations have declined by nearly three-quarters, a profound shift that challenges us to rethink how we care for the natural world. Yet even in the face of these losses, there is extraordinary reason for hope. Around the planet, communities, scientists, and storytellers are working together to reimagine solutions, restore ecosystems, and protect the places we all depend on.

Vital Impacts is a women-led 501c3 non-profit founded in 2021 by Ami Vitale and Eileen Mignoni to advance conservation through visual storytelling, community partnership, and strategic investment in local solutions. We harness the power of art, visual journalism, and community partnerships to support conservation and illuminate pathways toward a more resilient future. Central to our work is investing in storytellers. More than 1,000 journalists across 87 countries have received mentorship through our programs, gaining the tools and support to report on environmental issues with depth, sensitivity, and solutions-driven focus. Their stories bring global visibility to local challenges and to the people working creatively to solve them.

This storytelling network is paired with deep community engagement. Through partnerships, Vital Impacts has raised $3.5 million for local conservation initiatives. These resources help safeguard critical ecosystems, support community-led conservation, and ensure that those working closest to the land have the support they need to succeed.

We are also cultivating the next generation of environmental stewards. Our in-person student programs have reached 30,000 young people, inviting them to see themselves as active participants in shaping a healthier, more compassionate world. By connecting students with powerful stories and the people behind them, we spark curiosity, agency, and a lifelong commitment to caring for the planet.

At the heart of Vital Impacts is the belief that stories transform understanding and that understanding drives action. By elevating local voices, bridging science and narrative, and directing resources where they create lasting change, we are building a global community of people who recognize that restoring the planet is not only possible but already underway.

Instagram: @vital.impacts

Executive Director: Ami Vitale

Ami Vitale is a National Geographic Explorer at Large, award-winning photographer, writer, documentary filmmaker, and the founder of Vital Impacts. Her work explores the vital connections between people, wildlife, and the planet. With nearly three decades of experience working in over 100 countries, Ami uses storytelling as a tool for conservation, empathy, and action.

Her career began in conflict zones, where she witnessed firsthand how environmental degradation—including resource scarcity, displacement, and climate instability—profoundly affects human lives. These early experiences shaped her conviction that environmental and social issues are inseparable, guiding her toward long-term, solutions-focused work that highlights resilience, collaboration, and possibility.

Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including Conservation International’s Lui-Walton Innovators Fellowship, the Lucie Humanitarian Award, the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service, the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting, and six World Press Photo awards. She is an honorary fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and an inductee into the North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame.

Through both her nonprofit leadership and her own creative work, she remains deeply committed to empowering emerging voices and advancing a more hopeful, solutions-driven future for our planet.

Instagram: @amivitale